Fitments for flexible bags

ABSTRACT

A standup bags made of a flexible material and methods of producing these standup bags. In particular, the standup bags have at least one substantially flat surface which is free of seams and folds. When the bag is filled with a flowable substance, the pressure exerted by the fluid upon the flat surfaces allows the bag to be self-standing. Additionally, the standup includes at least one contour structure that defines the geometry of the bag and also contributes to the standup bag&#39;s ability to be self-standing when even partially filled with a flowable substance.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/261,597, filed Jan. 12, 2001; U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/300, 623, filed Jun. 25, 2001; U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/305,788, filed Jul. 16, 2001; and U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/311,774, filed Aug. 10, 2001. The disclosures of theaforementioned U.S. Provisional Applications are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to a flexible bag made of flexible sheetmaterial and adapted to be self-standing after receiving flowablesubstances.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Many varieties of bags for flowable products such as liquids,pastes, granulates, flakes, or powders are known. Some examples arestandup bags, sachets, tubing bags, paper sacks, and even box-like bagssuch as milk cartons. The bags can be made from coated paper, plasticsheet, metal foil, or plastic-and-foil laminate. Generally, selection ofthe bag material is determined by the contents of the bag. Other factorswhich determine the choice of materials are appearance, ability tostandup when filled and/or partially filled, method in which the bagsare shipped, strength requirements, need to recycle, and cost. Mostknown bags have not been able to sufficiently meet all theserequirements.

[0004] Flexible bags are advantageous because they can be foldedextremely flat in their empty state so as to require very little space.The filling of such flexible bags with the product is generallyperformed in an automated operation. The bag is placed upright with itsdispensing opening pointing upwardly to permit a filling nozzle to beinserted thereinto. After the bag has been filled, the dispensingopening is closed by welding, sealing, or a closure.

[0005] Conventional standup bags are those with bottom “horizontal”panel gussets, more commonly known as bottom gussets. The gusset isheat-sealed to produce a flexible base on which the bag may standwithout support. The base permits the two sidewalls or facewalls tospread at the bottom when the pouch is filled, wherein the bag is athree-panel bag that is self-standing when full or partially full ofproduct heavy enough to bear down on the bottom pane. In most instances,the bottom panel is a separate sheet of flexible material, but somestructures fold a single web sheet into a W-shape and heat-seal a base.Other standup bag structures known in the art employ sidewall folds orside gussets and overlapping flat sheet bases. These standup bags do notstand up as well because they do not have the bottom gusset and havebeen used more successfully for dry products than for liquids.

[0006] Such standup bags are adaptable for packaging of liquids and dryproducts and are suitable replacement for other types of packaging suchas plastic or glass bottles, cans, and boxes. One of the advantagesstandup bags is that they are environmentally sound, offering sourcereduction of solid waste ranging from 70% to 90% by both weight andvolume. As a result, the use of standup bags reduces the need forrecycling landfill, and/or incineration. Another advantage of standupbags is that they offer the use of four to six color graphs for improvedshelf appeal and acceptance. Standup bags further offer cost savings dueto reduced transportation costs. Unlike the shipping of traditionallarge plastic empty containers, there is no shipping of air. There isfurther savings with reduced inventory save space and storage costs forcontainers. Standup bags take up about {fraction (1/80)}^(th) the volumecompared to storing an equal quantity of rigid containers.

[0007] A typical standup bag 100 generally employs two face-to-facefusion side seals and a single face-to-face across-the-top seal inaddition to the bottom seals as shown in FIG. 1. When viewed from theside, the standup bag 100 looks likes a distorted triangle with the baseof the triangle at the bottom 102. The across-the-top seals may beinterrupted by a fitment 104, zipper closure, or other device tofacilitate opening, dispensing of the contents, and reclosing. Anothertype of standup bag 110 includes gussets that permit the bottom to foldinto a flat position, like a paper grocery sack as shown in FIG. 2.

[0008] In general, standup bags may be classified as one of two types:preformed bags and form-fill-seal bags. Preformed standup bags are madeon a separate converting machine and delivered to a packager inready-to-open, fill-and-close form, while the form-fill-seal bags arefabricated in-line by the packager from flexible roll stock materials onmachines that fold the sidewalls and die-cut openings for heat sealinginto the bottom section. Output speeds of intermittent motion preformedbag machines are usually faster than those on form-fill-seal machinesbecause of multilane possibilities as well as the limiting factors offilling and sealing on the filling machines. Furthermore, it is easierto incorporate dispensing and other fitments on separate convertingequipment than on in-line form-fill-seal equipment. Lastly, preformedpouches tend to be more reliable in distribution performance thanform-fill-seal bags such that most liquid containing standup bags todate have used preformed bags.

[0009] Representative of the prior art are the plastic bags disclosed inU.S. Pat. Nos. to Kneutter (U.S. Pat. No. 2, 265,075), Doyen et al.(U.S. Pat. No. 3,380,646), Kugler (U.S. Pat. No. 3,437,258), Michel(U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,074) and Bustin (U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,497). Someknown standup bags attempt to provide the standup capability merely byuse of a simple bottom gusset alone or supplemented with seals added inthe gusset structure. A simple bottom gusset sealed at its sides doesnot provide a normal consumer plastic bag with a sufficient standupfeature. Such a plastic bag, typically made from polyethylene film lessthan one mil thick is too limp to stand up from the gusseted bottom.

[0010] Other objects, features, and advantages of the present inventionwill become more apparent to those persons having ordinary skill in theart to which the present invention pertains from the foregoingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a prior art standup bag having face-to-face fusion sideseals and a single face-to-face across-the-top seal in addition to thebottom seals;

[0012]FIG. 2 is another prior art standup bag having gussets that permitthe bottom to fold into a flat position;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a flexible bag of the presentinvention in the form of a standup bag having a fitment;

[0014]FIG. 3A is a perspective view of a flexible of the presentinvention having a fitment extending through a heat seal;

[0015]FIG. 4 is a front plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 3;

[0016]FIG. 5 is a rear plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 3;

[0017]FIG. 6 is a plan view of one side of the standup bag of FIG. 3;

[0018]FIG. 7 is a plan view of the other side of the standup bag of FIG.3

[0019]FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 3;

[0020]FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 3;

[0021] FIGS. 10A-10C are enlarged views of the fitment of FIG. 3;

[0022]FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view showing the securement ofthe sheet to the top surface of the bottom seal flange of the fitment ofFIG. 3;

[0023]FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view through FIG. 11;

[0024]FIG. 13A-C are side views of the standup bag of FIG. 3 having aplurality of material plies;

[0025] FIGS. 14-23 show the steps for forming the standup bag of FIG. 3;

[0026]FIG. 24 is a fully formed standup bag of FIG. 3 in a collapsedstate;

[0027]FIG. 25 is a side plan view of a continuous web system formanufacturing the standup bag of FIG. 3;

[0028]FIG. 26 is a top plan view of the continuous web system of FIG.25;

[0029] FIGS. 27-27D are cross-sectional views through FIG. 26;

[0030]FIG. 28A is a top plan view of a fully formed web comprisingstandup bags and FIG. 28B is a side plan view of the web comprisingstandup bags;

[0031]FIG. 28C is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of fullyformed web of standup bags;

[0032]FIG. 28D is a top plan view of the web of FIG. 28C;

[0033]FIG. 28E is a side view of the web of FIG. 28C;

[0034]FIG. 28F is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of fullyformed web of standup bags;

[0035]FIG. 28G is a top plan view of the web of FIG. 28F;

[0036]FIG. 28H is a side view of the web of FIG. 28F;

[0037]FIG. 29 is a side plan view of the web of FIG. 28A packaged in abox for shipping;

[0038]FIG. 30 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of aflexible bag of the present invention;

[0039]FIG. 31 is perspective view of another alternative embodiment of aflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup baghaving a fitment;

[0040]FIG. 32 is a front plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 31

[0041]FIG. 33 is a rear plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 31;

[0042]FIG. 34 is a plan view of one side of the standup bag of FIG. 31;

[0043]FIG. 35 is a plan view of the other side of the standup bag ofFIG. 31;

[0044]FIG. 36 is a top plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 31;

[0045]FIG. 37 is a bottom plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 31;

[0046] FIGS. 38-47 show the steps for forming the standup bag of FIG.31;

[0047]FIG. 48 is a fully formed standup bag of FIG. 31 in a collapsedstate;

[0048]FIG. 49 is another alternative embodiment of a flexible bag on thepresent invention in the form of a standup bag having a fitment;

[0049]FIG. 50 is a front plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 49;

[0050]FIG. 51 is a rear plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 49;

[0051]FIG. 52 is a plan view of one side of the standup bag of FIG. 49;

[0052]FIG. 53 is a plan view of the other side of the standup bag ofFIG. 49;

[0053]FIG. 54 is a top plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 49;

[0054]FIG. 55 is a bottom plan view of the standup bag of FIG. 49;

[0055] FIGS. 56-65 show the steps for forming the standup bag of FIG.49;

[0056]FIG. 66 is a fully formed standup bag of FIG. 49 in a collapsedstate;

[0057]FIG. 67 is a perspective view of a flexible bag of the presentinvention in the form of a standup bag having a fitment;

[0058]FIG. 67A is a front plan view of the flexible bag of FIG. 67;

[0059]FIG. 67B is a rear plan view of the flexible bag of FIG. 67;

[0060]FIG. 67C is a top plan view of the flexible bag of FIG. 67;

[0061]FIG. 67D is a bottom plan view of the flexible bag of FIG. 67;

[0062]FIG. 68 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of aflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a flexible baghaving a fitment;

[0063]FIG. 68A is a plan view of one side of the flexible bag of FIG.68;

[0064]FIG. 69 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of aflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup baghaving a fitment;

[0065]FIG. 69A is a plan view of one side of the flexible bag of FIG.69;

[0066]FIG. 69B is a plan view of the other side of the flexible bag ofFIG. 69;

[0067]FIG. 70 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of aflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup bag;

[0068]FIG. 70A is a side view of one side of the flexible bag of FIG.70;

[0069]FIG. 70B is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of aflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup bag;

[0070]FIG. 70C is a template of the flexible bag of FIG. 70B;

[0071]FIG. 71 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of aflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup bag;

[0072]FIG. 72 is a perspective view of a flexible bag of the presentinvention having a fitment and a handle;

[0073]FIG. 72A is a plan view of one side of the flexible bag of FIG.72;

[0074]FIG. 72B is a top view of the flexible bag of FIG. 72;

[0075]FIG. 73 is a perspective view of a flexible bag of the presentinvention having a fitment and two handles;

[0076]FIG. 73A is a plan view of one side of the flexible bag of FIG.73;

[0077]FIG. 74 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of aflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup baghaving a fitment and one handle;

[0078]FIG. 74A is a plan view of one side of the flexible bag of FIG.74;

[0079]FIG. 75 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of aflexible bag of the present invention having a fitment and two handles;

[0080]FIG. 75A is a plan view of one side of the flexible bag of FIG.75;

[0081]FIG. 76 is a plan view of one side of an alternate embodiment of aflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup baghaving a fitment and two handles;

[0082]FIG. 76A is a perspective view of the flexible bag of FIG. 76;

[0083]FIG. 77 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of theflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup baghaving a handle spaced from a fitment;

[0084]FIG. 77A is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of theflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup baghaving a handle adjacent to a fitment;

[0085]FIG. 77B is a enlarged side view of the handle of FIG. 77A;

[0086]FIG. 78 is a template of a flexible bag of the present inventionin the form of a standup bag having two integral handles;

[0087]FIG. 78A is a side view of a flexible bag made from the templateof FIG. 78;

[0088]FIG. 79A is a front plan view of an alternate embodiment of theflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup baghaving handles,

[0089]FIG. 79B is a top plan view of the flexible bag of FIG. 79A;

[0090]FIG. 79C is a perspective view of the flexible bag of FIG. 79A;

[0091]FIG. 79D is a front plan view of an alternate embodiment of theflexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup baghaving handles;

[0092]FIG. 79E is a top plan view of the flexible bag of FIG. 79D;

[0093]FIG. 79F is a perspective view of the flexible bag of FIG. 79D;

[0094]FIG. 80 is a perspective view of the lower triangular profile offlexible bag of the present invention in the form of a standup bag;

[0095]FIG. 80A is an enlarged side view of the lower triangular profileof the flexible bag of FIG. 80;

[0096]FIG. 80B is an enlarged side view of the lower triangular profileof the flexible bag in a collapsed state;

[0097]FIG. 81A shows the steps for forming the standup bag from acontinuous web;

[0098]FIG. 81B is front plan view of a fully formed standup bag in acollapsed state;

[0099]FIG. 81C is an enlarged side view of the lower triangular profileof the standup bag of FIG. 81B;

[0100]FIG. 82A is a side view of the continuous web for manufacturingthe standup bag including a stay member;

[0101]FIG. 82B is a side view of an alternate embodiment of thecontinuous web for manufacturing the standup bag including a staymember;

[0102]FIG. 85A is a perspective view of the standup bag of the presentinvention having a panel overlay;

[0103]FIG. 85B is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thestandup bag of the present invention having a panel overlay;

[0104]FIG. 85C is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thestandup bag of the present invention having a panel overlay;

[0105]FIG. 85D is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thestandup bag of the present invention having a panel overlay;

[0106]FIG. 85E is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thestandup bag of the present invention having a panel overlay;

[0107]FIG. 85F is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thestandup bag of the present invention having a panel overlay;

[0108]FIG. 86 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thestandup bag of the present invention having one outer heat seal;

[0109]FIG. 87 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thestandup bag of the present invention having a planar handle;

[0110]FIG. 88A is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thestandup bag of the present invention having two planar handles;

[0111]FIG. 88B is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of thestandup bag of the present invention having two planar handles;

[0112]FIG. 89 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the standup bagof the present invention;

[0113]FIG. 89A is a template of the standup bag of FIG. 89;

[0114]FIG. 90 is a side view of a fitment that may be provided with thestandup bag of the present invention;

[0115]FIG. 91 is a side view of an alternate embodiment fitment that maybe provided with the standup bag of the present invention;

[0116]FIG. 92 is an enlarged view of a portion the fitment of FIG. 91;

[0117]FIG. 93 is a side view of an alternate embodiment fitment that maybe provided with the standup bag of the present invention;

[0118]FIG. 94 is a side view of the fitment of FIG. 93 in a lockedposition;

[0119]FIG. 95 is a side view of an alternate embodiment fitment that maybe provided with the standup bag of the present invention;

[0120]FIG. 96 is a side view of the fitment of FIG. 95 in a closedposition;

[0121]FIG. 97 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment fitmentthat may be provided with the standup bag of the present invention;

[0122]FIG. 97A is a cross-sectional view of the fitment of FIG. 97;

[0123]FIG. 97B is a top view of the fitment of FIG. 97;

[0124]FIG. 98 is a top view of an alternate embodiment fitment that maybe provided with the standup bag of the present invention;

[0125] FIGS. 99A-D illustrate the effects of Force X applied to astandup bag of the present invention;

[0126] FIGS. 100A-D illustrate the effects of Force X applied to analternate embodiment of a standup bag of the present invention; and

[0127]FIG. 101 is front plan view of an alternate embodiment of thestandup bag of the present invention;

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0128] The present invention relates generally to a self-standing bagmade from a flexible materials and to methods of making theself-standing bag. More particularly, the standup bag includes at leastone substantially flat surface that is free of seams. This substantiallyflat surface provides a stable foundation that allows the bag to beself-standing without any additional support members. That is, unlikeprior art bags, the standup bag of the present invention does notrequire any spare material to help support a bag when filled with aflowable substance.

[0129] Moreover, the standup bag of the present invention is designed sothat it may be manufactured, stored, and/or shipped in a flat form. Whenfilled with a flowable substance, the bag expands to a desired form andbecomes self-standing even when partially filled. The flowable substanceexerts a pressure on the bag walls which forces the bag to conform tothe bag geometry defined by the contour structures.

[0130] The self-standing bag of the present invention also may be madefrom one or more sheets of material. Each sheet may be one or more pliesof material. Each material ply may be attached along the periphery,laminated together, or any method thereof. The standup bag is providedwith a fitment that may be attached to a wall of the bag or through aseal of the bag. The bags of the present invention are filled and may beemptied through the fitment. The standup bag also may include at leastone integrated handle that facilitates the carrying of a filled bag.Furthermore, the standup bag may include a sleeve provide on theexterior surface of the bag which may be adapted as a carrying member orprovide surfaces on which to print graphics or labels.

[0131] In one embodiment of the present invention, the standup bag is anenclosure formed from at least one sheet of material. The enclosure isdefined by at least one wall, and the wall is substantially rigid whenthe enclosure is filled with a flowable substance. Additionally, thestandup bag includes at least one contour structure that defines thegeometric shape of the enclosure.

[0132] In another embodiment of the present invention, the standup bagis an enclosure having a top wall, a bottom wall, and at least one walldisposed between the top and bottom wall. The standup bag also includesat least one contour structure that defines the overall geometry of thebag. Furthermore, the standup bag is provided with at least one fitmentin communication with the enclosure.

[0133] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the standupbag comprises an enclosure having a plurality of substantially flatwalls where at least one of the plurality of flat walls being free ofseams. The flat wall forms a stable base to allow the enclosure filledwith the flowable substance to be self-standing. The standup bag alsoincludes at least one fitment attached to the enclosure where a flowablesubstance may enter or be withdrawn from the enclosure. The standup bagis also provided with at least one contour structure provided on atleast two walls of the enclosure where the contour structures define theshape of the enclosure. The standup bag also includes at least onegrasping member attached to the standup bag where the grasping membersextend away from the walls of the standup bag.

[0134] In another embodiment of the present invention, the standup bagcomprises an enclosure having a plurality of substantially flat wallswhere at least one of the plurality of flat walls being free of seams.The flat wall forms a stable base to allow the enclosure filled with theflowable substance to be self-standing. The standup bag also includes atleast one fitment attached to the enclosure where a flowable substancemay enter or be withdrawn from the enclosure. The standup bag is alsoprovided with at least one contour structure provided on at least twowalls of the enclosure where the contour structures define the shape ofthe enclosure. The standup bag also includes at least one graspingmember integral with the enclosure. That is, the first and second edgesof the grasping members are attached to the contour structures.

[0135] In another embodiment of the present invention, the standup bagsmay be provided in a web of standup bags. That is, the web is aplurality of standup bags that may be joined together by adjacentcontour structures. In another web embodiment, the adjacent standup bagsmay also be joined together by at least one stay member that spansbetween the adjacent standup bags.

[0136] The present invention also discloses methods of making thestandup bags. According to the teachings of the present invention, thestandup bag may be formed from a sheet of material. The standup bag isformed by securing the first edge of the sheet is secured to the secondedge of the sheet by a first seal. A first fold substantially parallelto the first edge is created. The distance between the first fold andthe first edge defines a first surface of the bag. A second foldsubstantially parallel to the first fold is also formed on the sheetmaterial. A second seal is formed where the seal extends from the firstfold to the second fold. A third seal, which extends from the first foldto the second fold and is opposite the second seal, is also formed tocomplete the enclosure.

[0137] According to another method of the present invention, a standupbag may be formed from two sheets of material. The first sheet ofmaterial is positioned on the second sheet of material. The first andsecond sheets are secured together by forming a first seal and a secondseal. A first fold substantially parallel to the first seal is formedwhere the distance between the first fold and the first seal defines afirst surface of the bag. A second fold substantially parallel to thesecond is formed where in the distance between the second fold and thesecond edge defines a second surface of the bag. A second and a thirdseal are formed where the seals extends from the first fold to thesecond fold.

[0138] Moreover, the teachings of the present invention disclose amethod of designing standup bags.

[0139] According to yet another method of the present invention, a webof standup bags may be formed from two rolls of material. The first rollof material is unwound, a hole is punched in the unwound portion, and afitment is then fitted through the hole. The second roll of material isunwound and placed atop the unwound portion of the first roll. Materialfrom the corners of the unwound portions are removed, and the unwoundportions are joined together by a first and a second horizontal seal.The unwound portions are then folded to form substantially flatsurfaces, and the longitudinal surfaces of the unwound portions aresealed with at least two substantially U-shaped seals to form the web ofstandup bags.

[0140] In another embodiment of the present invention, a fitment may beattached to a flexible bag. The fitment comprises a cylindrical bodyhaving a lumen, a first end, and a second end. The fitment also includesa cylindrical carrier that is attached to the first end of thecylindrical body where the carrier is detachable from the cylindricalbody. The fitment also includes a closure that is capable of seating thelumen of the cylindrical body.

[0141] In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a fitment maybe attached to a flexible bag. The fitment comprises a cylindrical bodyhaving a lumen, a first end, and a second end. The fitment also includesa cylindrical carrier that is attached to the first end of thecylindrical body where the carrier is detachable from the cylindricalbody at an annular groove. The annular groove is disposed between thefirst end of the cylindrical body and the cylindrical carrier. Thefitment also includes a closure that is capable of sealing the lumen ofthe cylindrical body.

[0142] In another embodiment of the present invention, the fitmentcomprises a cylindrical body having a lumen, a first end, a second end;a cylindrical sleeve that slidably engages the cylindrical body; and aclosure that is adapted to engage or disengage the lumen of the sleeve.The cylindrical sleeve has a first position and a second position. Inthe first position, the sleeve protrudes from the first end of thecylindrical body. In the second position, the sleeve engages the firstend of the cylindrical body.

[0143] In yet another embodiment, the fitment comprises a cylindricalring having a lumen disposed between a first end and a second end, andat least one annular groove disposed on an inner surface of the lumen.The fitment also includes a cylindrical sleeve that slidably engages thelumen of the cylindrical ring. The cylindrical sleeve comprises a lumendisposed between a first end and a second end; at least one portarranged about the circumference of the cylindrical sleeve; a basemember positioned within the lumen below the port; and at least oneannular ridge positioned on an outer surface of the sleeve where theannular ridge is adapted to engage the annular groove of the cylindricalring. The cylindrical sleeve may be placed in a first position and asecond position. In the first position, an interior of the bag is sealedwhen the annular ridge engages the annular groove. In the secondposition, the flange of the sleeve engages the first end of thecylindrical ring and the at least one port is in communication with aninterior of the standup bag.

[0144] In another embodiment, the fitment comprises a cylindrical ringhaving a lumen disposed between a first end and a second end; at leastone sleeve cooperating means disposed on an inner surface of the lumen;and a cylindrical sleeve that is slidably disposed in the lumen of thecylindrical ring. The cylindrical sleeve comprises a lumen disposedbetween a first end and a second end; at least one port disposedarranged about the circumference of the cylindrical sleeve; a basemember positioned within the lumen below the at least one port; and atleast one ring cooperating means positioned on an outer surface of thesleeve where the ring cooperating means is adapted to engage the sleevecooperating means of the cylindrical ring. The cylindrical sleeve havinga first position and a second position. In the first position, the ringcooperating means engages the sleeve cooperating means thereby sealingthe bag interior. In the second position, the ring cooperating means isdisengaged from the sleeve cooperating means and the ports are incommunication with the interior of the standup bag.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

[0145] Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiments are providedherein. The general concept of each embodiment is that a standup bagformed from flexible sheet material and has a substantially flatconfiguration becomes rigid when filled with a flowable substance. Thepressure exerted by the flowable substance on the sheet material causesthe bag to become self-standing even when partially filled. It is to beunderstood, however, that the present invention may be embodied invarious forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not tobe interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and asa representative for teaching one skilled in the art to employ thepresent invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system,structure or manner.

[0146] Referring to FIGS. 3-9, a standup bag 120 of the presentinvention is illustrated. The standup bag 120 has a front wall 122, arear wall 124, side walls 126, 128, a top wall 130, and a bottom wall132 to define therebetween an enclosed brick-shaped region forcontaining the flowable substance. The walls 122, 124, 126, 128, 130,132 are formed from flexible sheets which are secured together by heatsealing, impulsed sealing, ultrasonic sealing, radio frequency (RF)sealing, or other techniques as would be apparent to those skilled inthe art. In the standup bag as shown in FIGS. 6-7, all opposing wallsare substantially parallel. For example, the front wall 122 and the rearwall 124 are substantially parallel to one another. Likewise, the topwall 130 and the bottom wall 132, and the side walls 126, 128 aresubstantially parallel to one another. Additionally, the edges of thewalls that comprise the standup bag are substantially perpendicular toone another. Referring back to FIGS. 4-5, the edges 127 of the walls areconfigured such that an angle formed between two adjacent edges is about90 degrees. Accordingly, the standup bag may have a plurality of shapesincluding, but not limited to, a rectangular pyramid or a cuboidstructure.

[0147] The top wall 130 has a through-hole (not shown) and a fitmentshown generally at 133 secured at the hole. The fitment may include atleast two parts, a spout body 134 and a lower flange 136. In anotherembodiment of the fitment, a valve member may provided with the spoutbody at region 138 as shown in FIG. 3. Additionally, a closure such as,but not limited to, a cap 140 that may be reversibly attached to theopening of spout body. All three parts can be made of plastic,preferably polyethylene. The bottom surface of the lower flange 136 isshown enlarged and in isolation in FIGS. 10A and 10B. The spout body 134is passed through the through-hole (not shown) so that the top surfaceof the lower flange 136 engages the bottom surface of the top wall 130as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The top wall 130 is secured to the flange136 top surface as a ring-shaped seal around the lower flange. Thus, theflange 136 top surface acts as a sealing surface. The flange may besecured to the bag material by heat sealing, impulsed sealing,ultrasonic sealing, RF sealing, or by other techniques known in the art.

[0148] Referring back to FIG. 3, the spout is placed in the center ofthe top wall 130. According to alternate embodiments of the presentinvention, the spout may be placed in a plurality of locations. As shownin FIG. 3A, a spout may be placed along the heat seal seam 156. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that a spout may be placed along anyof the heat seals 148, 150, 152, 154. In an alternate embodiment, thethrough hole (not shown) and spout may be positioned on any wail 122,124, 126, 128, 130, 132. Additionally, the spout may be placed at anyposition on any wall at any location of the wall such as, but notlimited to, the top, bottom, center, or off-center positions.

[0149] In an alternate embodiment, a closure may be attached to thespout. As shown in FIG. 3, the most basic closure is a plastic cap thatmay be reversibly attached to the spout. The cap may be made of plastic,preferably polyethylene. Other closures such as, but not limited to, avalve may be attached to the spout opening. The valve provides a meansof controlling the contents of the bag. In one embodiment, the valve hasat least two positions. In a first position, a passage is provided whichallows for the contents to be dispensed. In a second position, thedispensing valve is closed and the contents can not be dispensed. Inanother embodiment, the valve may be positioned in an intermediateposition where the bag contents are dispensed at a lower flow rate ascompared to a valve in the first position.

[0150] The front wall 122, portions of the side walls 126, 128, and thetop wall 130 are formed from a first sheet 158, while the rear wall 124,portions of the side walls 126, 128, and the bottom wall 132 are formedfrom a second sheet 160 as shown in FIGS. 6, 7, and 16. In particular,the first side wall 126 includes upper heat seals 142 which extend fromupper corners of the first side wall 126 and join to form a V-shapedseal when viewed from the side as shown in FIG. 7. The first side wall126 further includes lower heat seals 144 which extend from lower comersof the first side wall 126 and join to form an inverted V-shaped seal.The V-shaped seals are joined together by a longitudinal heat seal 146which substantially bisects the first side wall 126. The combination ofthe V-shaped seals and the longitudinal heat seals forms a bag contourstructure. Similarly, the second side wall 128 includes upper heat seals148 and lower heat seals 150 which form V-shaped seal and an invertedV-shaped seal as shown in FIG. 6, and each of the V-shaped seals arejoined together by a longitudinal heat seal 152. As shown in FIG. 3, thelongitudinal heat seal 152 may be twisted. The twisted heat seal isattributable to the manufacturing process, yet it may confer additionalrigidity to the bag 120 when filled with a fluid. In another embodiment,the longitudinal heat seal 152 is straight as shown in FIG. 3A.

[0151] Referring to FIG. 4, a heat seal 154 extends along the bottomedge of the front wall 122 from one of the lower heat seals 144 of thefirst side wall 126 to one of the lower heat seals 150 of the secondside wall 128. In a similar fashion, a heat seal 156 extends along thetop edge of the rear face 124 from one of the upper heat seals 142 ofthe first side wall 126 to one of the upper heat seals 148 of the secondside wall 128 as shown in FIG. 5. The heat seals that comprise upper andlower V-shaped seals together with the longitudinal heat seal form acontour structure. The contour structure serves to enhance the rigidityto the flexible bag. As the bag is filled with a flowable substance, thestandup may be self-standing due in part to the contour structure.

[0152] By configuring the standup bag 120 in the manner shown in FIGS.3-9, a substantially flat bag may be filled to form a self-standing bag.The relatively flexible sheets are rigidified by the flowable substanceexerting pressure against the walls 122, 124, 126, 128, 130, 132.Furthermore, the comers 129 of the standup bag 120 remain rigid and welldefined as a result of the flowable substance exerting pressure againstthe corner regions. Additionally, when a flowable substance isintroduced into the bag, the contour structures also distribute theforce of the flowable substance and helps define the overall structureof the standup bag. In other words, the pressure of the flowablesubstance exerted against the contour structures, walls, and the cornersof the standup bag creates substantially flat and stable surfaces thatallow the standup bag 120 to stand upright on a level surface, even whenonly partially filled with the flowable substance.

[0153] By doing away with conventional bag configurations known in theart such as using relatively thick sheet material and/or supportivestructures (i.e. gussets, skirts, and flaps), significant material andmanufacturing costs may be reduced. After filling the standup bag,storage and transportation costs may be reduced because the basic cubicshape of the bag occupies less space than non-cubic shape bags such ascylindrical containers of comparable volume. Furthermore, the cubicshape of the standup bag may be more appealing for marketing purposesdue to its simplified shape and the ability to form continuous graphicsand labeling.

[0154] Referring to FIGS. 67-69B, another embodiment of the standup bag490 is illustrated. The standup bag 490 has a front wall 500, a rearwall 502, side walls 501, 503, a top wall 508, and a bottom wall 510 todefine therebetween an enclosed frustrum of a rectangular pyramidal forcontaining the flowable substance. As shown in FIGS. 67-69B, the top ofthe standup bag is narrower than the bottom of the bag.

[0155] The shape of the standup bag 490 is attributed to at least twoopposing walls 500, 502 or 501, 503 having a configuration as shown inFIG. 67. The first side wall 501 further includes upper heat seals 512,514 that extend from the upper corners of the side wall 501 to form afirst 504 V-shaped seal when viewed from the side as shown in FIG. 68.The first side wall 501 further includes lower heat seals 518, 520 thatextend from the lower corners of the side wall 501 to form an invertedV-shaped seal 506. The first 504 and second 506 V-shaped seals arejoined together by a longitudinal heat seal 516 to form a contourstructure. Similarly, the second side wall 503 includes upper and lowerheat seals that form a first and second V-shaped seal joined by alongitudinal heat seal to form a contour structure.

[0156] In an alternate embodiment, the front 500 and rear 502 walls havea configuration as shown in FIGS. 68 and 68A and the side walls 501, 503have a rectangular shape such as, but not limited to, a square or arectangle as shown in FIGS. 68 and 68A. In yet another embodiment, thefront, back, and both side walls may be pyramidally-shaped to form astandup bag as illustrated in FIG. 69, 69A, and 69B. The difference inwidth between the top and bottom of a pyramidal-shaped wall may be aslittle as 1-2.5 mm; however, it is also contemplated that the differencein width may be substantially larger.

[0157] FIGS. 70-71 illustrate a prism-shaped bag where the front paneland back panel meet at a point which is fin sealed. The front wall 600and the back wall 602 have a substantially right quadrilateral shapewhile the side walls 604, 606 are triangular in shape. The side wallsinclude heat seals 608, 610, 612 that extend from the corners of theside wall to form an inverted Y-shaped seal as shown in FIG. 70A. Theheat seals 608, 610, 612 extend away from the corners at an angle thatis about half of the angle formed between adjacent edges of the sidewall. Stated differently, the heat seals bifurcate the angles α, β, φformed between adjacent edges of the side wall as shown in FIG. 70A.

[0158]FIG. 70B illustrates another prism-shaped bag where the front andback panels meet at a point. The standup bag comprises two side walls604, 606 that are triangular in shape and front wall 620 and back wall(not shown) that have a substantially right quadrilateral shape with arounded top region. The front 620 and back walls (not shown include andlower seals 610, 612 that form a lower triangular profile. These upperand lower triangular profiles are connected by a longitudinal heat seal608. Additionally, the fitment 622 is located on the front wall 620.

[0159]FIG. 70C illustrates a pattern that may be used to form thestandup bag as shown in FIG. 70B. Sections A, B, C, A′, B′, and C′ formthe two side panels of the standup bag. Section E is the bottom wall,and Sections D and F are the front and back walls, and the fitment isinserted through a through-hole (not shown). The standup bag madeaccording to the pattern of FIG. 70C comprises at least one sheet ofmaterial. That is, the standup bag may be made from one to nine sheetsof material. For example, nine separate sheets of material may beprovided to form each section (A-F and A′-C′) and each section is weldedtogether to form the standup bag as illustrated in FIG. 70B.

[0160]FIG. 71 shows another embodiment of a prism shaped standup bag ofthe present invention. The standup bag comprises a front wall 636, backwall (not shown), side walls 606, and a bottom wall (not shown). Thestandup bag also includes a fitment 622 which may be provided on anywalled surface or along any heat sealed edge. As shown in FIG. 71, thefitment is located at the bottom of the front panel. However, thoseskilled in the art will appreciated that the fitment may be located onany surface or along any seal of the bag. As shown in FIG. 71, the frontand back walls include a longitudinal heat seal 634 and oblique heatseals 630.

[0161] As shown in FIG. 70, a fin seal fitment 133 is provided at thetop of the standup bag. FIG. 70B illustrates a standup bag having afitment 622 provided on a walled surface. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the fitments may be located on any surface or along anyedge of the standup bag of the present invention. The fitment locationas shown in FIGS. 70-71 are illustrative and not meant to be limiting.

[0162] Referring back to FIGS. 67, the standup bag has a through hole(not shown) and a fitment provided on the top wall. The fitment may beplaced in a plurality of locations such as, but not limited to, thefront wall, rear wall, first V-shaped seal of the first side wall,second V-shaped seal of the first side wall, first side panel of thefirst side wall, and second side panel of the first side wall, firstV-shaped seal of the second side wall, second V-shaped seal of thesecond side wall, first side panel of the second side wall, and secondside panel of the second side wall. The fitment may be placed along aheat seal seam as shown in FIG. 3A. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that a fitment may be placed along any of the heat seals ofthe standup bag. Furthermore, the standup bag may be provided with morethan one fitment.

[0163] The pyramidal-shape is advantageous because it providesadditional stability for a given thickness of material. That is, inaddition to the contour structures and substantially flat wails, thepyramidal shape provides a larger base to further enhance the stabilityof the standup bag. The enhanced stability of the pyramidal-shaped bagis illustrated by comparing FIGS. 99A-D and FIGS. 100A-D. FIGS. 99A-Dillustrates the effects of a force X applied to the side of arectangular-shaped bag. FIGS. 100A-D illustrates the effects of the sameforce X applied to the side of a pyramidal-shaped bag of the presentinvention.

[0164]FIG. 99A shows the rectangular-shaped bag's center of gravity Gand the lines of force shown as lines E to H and F to G. FIG. 100A showsthe pyramidal-shaped bag's center of gravity G′ and the lines of forceshown as the lines A to D and C to D. The lines of force represent thetension in the bags, and the bags' tendency to retain their shapes whensubjected to external forces. As shown in FIGS. 99A and 100A, thepyramidal-shaped bag has larger lines of forces as compared to therectangular-shaped bag. Accordingly, the pyramidal-shaped bag has agreater tendency to hold its shape as compared to the rectangular-shapedbag. Furthermore, the pyramidal-shaped bag's ability to retain its shapetranslates into the ability to remain self-standing when an externalforce is applied to the bag.

[0165] As shown in FIG. 99B and FIG. 100B, when force X is applied tothe side of the bag, the center gravity G′, G″ of the rectangular andpyramidal bags have shifted towards point D and point H, respectively.As an additional force X is applied to the side of the pyramidal-shapedbag, the bag's center of gravity G″ moves closer to point D as shown inFIGS. 100C-D. Likewise, when the same force X is applied to therectangular shaped bag, the center of gravity G′ moves closer to point Has shown in FIGS. 99C. As shown in FIG. 99D, when the center of gravityG′ moves closer to point H, the bag will lose stability and topple over.That is, once the center of gravity gets too close and/or passes thefootprint boundary of the bag, the corner of the bag buckles under theweight of the flowable substance thereby causing the bag to topple. Incontrast, the pyramidal-shaped bag does not topple because the center ofgravity G″ is still within the boundary of the base. FIGS. 100A-Dillustrate a pyramidal bag with a larger base footprint as compared tothe top of the bag. However, a slight increase in the width of the baserelative to the top of the bag has been shown to improve the stabilityof a standup bag.

[0166] Referring to FIGS. 13-23, the standup bag 120 can be formed byproviding a first rectangular sheet 158 and a second rectangular sheet160. Each of the sheets 158, 160 may be comprised of at least one layerof material. The layers of material may be co-extruded or glued orlaminated together. In an alternate embodiment, the layers of materialmay be connected only at their edges by a perimeter seal. FIG. 13A showsa sheet 162 having a single-layer construction. FIG. 13B shows analternative sheet having a two-layer construction 164 with an innerlayer material 166 and an outer layer 168 material. FIG. 13C showsanother alternative sheet 170 having a three-ply laminate constructionwith inner and outer layers 172 and a center layer 174.

[0167] A hole 176 is punched in the first rectangular sheet 158 todefine the through-hole (see FIG. 14), and the spout body 134 is fittedup through the through-hole (see FIG. 15), wherein the lower flange 136is sealed to the first rectangular sheet 158 to form the seal ring 178(see FIG. 12). Referring to FIG. 16, the first sheet 158 is positionedabove the second sheet 160. As shown in FIG. 17, the sheets 158, 160 aresecured together at a bottom portion by forming a first U-shaped seal180 extending from one side of the sheets 158, 160 to an opposite sideof the sheets 158, 160 and are further secured together at a top portionby forming a second U-shaped seal 182 extending from one side of thesheets to the opposite side of the sheets. The seals 180, 182 can beformed by heat sealing, impulsed sealing, ultrasonic sealing, radiofrequency (RF) sealing, or other techniques as would be apparent tothose skilled in the art. Referring to FIGS. 17 and 18, four cornerportions of the sheets 158, 160 are removed by trimming along endsegments of the first 180 and second U-shaped seal 182.

[0168] Referring to FIG. 18, a first fold 184 is formed near the bottomportion of the first sheet 158. The first fold 184 extends from one sideof the first sheet 158 to the opposite side of the first sheet 158,wherein the first fold 184 abuts end segments 186, 188 of the firstU-shaped seal 180. A second fold 190 is formed near the top portion ofthe first sheet. The second fold 190 extends from one side of the firstsheet 158 to the opposite side of the first sheet 158. Referring to FIG.19, a third fold 192 is formed near the bottom portion of the secondsheet 160. The third fold 192 extends from one side of the second sheet160 to the opposite side of the second sheet 160. A fourth fold 194 isformed near the top portion of the second sheet 160. The fourth fold 194extends from one side of the second sheet 160 to the opposite side ofthe second sheet 160, wherein the fourth fold 194 abuts end segments196, 198 of the second U-shaped seal 182.

[0169]FIG. 20 illustrates the sheets 158, 160 folded approximatelyninety degrees at the first 184, second 190, third 192, and fourth fold194 such that mid-portions of the first 158 and second sheet 160 areseparated from each other by a distance A. As illustrated in FIG. 21,the sheets 158, 160 are further folded at the first 184, second 190,third 192, and fourth fold 194 from approximately ninety degrees to onehundred eighty degrees to form a rectangularly shaped assembly, whereinthe mid-portion of the first sheet 158 and the bottom portion of thesecond sheet 160 are illustrated.

[0170] Referring back to FIG. 22, the sides of the sheets 158, 160 aresecured together by a third U-shaped seal 202 and a fourth U-shaped seal204. As shown in FIG. 23, four corner portions of the rectangularlyshaped assembly are removed by trimming along end segments of the third202 and fourth U-shaped seal 204. The standup bag 120 is now fullyformed and may be shipped to a filling station in the collapsed state asshown in FIG. 24. One of the advantages of fully forming the standup bag120 prior to filling is that a large number of bags may be packed into acontainer for shipment to the filling station because the bags arerelatively flat. Furthermore, the likelihood of contaminating theflowable substance during filling is minimized by providing a fullyformed bag because the flowable substance may be more easily filled in aprotected environment. This is important for aseptic applications orwhere contamination of a flowable substance is unacceptable.

[0171] Referring to FIGS. 25-27D, an alternative method of forming thestandup bag 120 is illustrated schematically using a continuous websystem 206 for high throughput applications. The standup bag 120 can beformed by providing a first roll 208 of material to define the firstsheet 158 and a second roll 210 of material to define the second sheet160, unwinding a portion of the first roll 208, punching a hole in theunwound portion to define the through-hole at a hole-punching station212, fitting the spout body 134 up through the through-hole and sealingthe lower flange 136 to the unwound portion to form the seal ring 178(see FIG. 12) at a spout-sealing station 214. A portion of the secondroll 210 is unwound such that the first sheet 158 is offset from thesecond sheet 160 as shown in FIG. 26, and portions of the two rolls 208,210 are sealed together at a sealing station 216 to form first seals218. Referring back to FIG. 4, the first seals 218 are-the longitudinalheat seals 146, 152 of the standup bag 120. At a notching station 220,eight corner portions of the assembly are removed, wherein the removalis equivalent to the removal of the eight comers portions illustrated inFIGS. 18 and 23. As shown in FIGS.

[0172] FIGS. 27A-D are cross-sectional views of two sheets of materialsthat form the standup bag of the present invention. FIG. 27 shows thefirst sheet 158 overlapping the second sheet 160. As shown in FIG. 27A,a portion of an assembly 221 is folded upwardly to form a first flap 222and a portion of the assembly 221 is folded downwardly to form a secondflap 224 at a first folding station 226. As shown in FIGS. 27B, aportion of the assembly 221 is further folded to form flaps 228, 230 ata second folding station 232. As shown in FIG. 27C, the flaps 228, 230are further folded approximately ninety degrees at a third foldingstation 234. FIG. 27D shows a complete standup bag folded flat.Referring back to FIG. 25, additional seals 236, 238, 240 are formed tocomplete the assembly 242. It is noted that the seals may be formed byheat sealing, impulsed sealing, ultrasonic sealing, RF sealing, or byother techniques known to those skilled in the art.

[0173] FIGS. 28A-28B illustrate the continuous web 246 of standup bags120 made in accordance with the methods shown in FIGS. 25-26. Thestandup bags 120 are joined along the longitudinal heat seals. As shownin FIG. 28B, the bags may be folded into a substantially flatconfiguration. This configuration is advantageous because the empty bagsoccupy less space than an empty container. FIG. 28C illustrates anothercontinuous web 246″ of standup bags 120. The standup bags 120 are joinedalong an head heat seal 156. As shown in FIGS. 28C-28E, the heat seals156 are perforated, but those skilled in the art will appreciate thatthe heat seal may not need to be perforated. In this configuration, thetops of adjacent bags are substantially planar and the body of the bagshang below the top surface of the bag as shown in FIG. 28E.Nevertheless, the standup bags 120 that joined along the head heat seals156 may be folded substantially flat like the standup bags joined alongthe longitudinal heat seals as shown in FIGS. 28F-28H. Those skilled inthe art will appreciate that the web of standup of bags may be joinedalong any of the heat seals that may be provided on the surfaces of thestandup bag.

[0174]FIG. 80 shows the lower V-shaped seal of the standup bag. Moreparticularly, FIG. 80 shows the point of intersection between thelongitudinal heat seal 642 and the two lower heat seals 646, 646′ thatform the lower V-shaped seal. FIG. 80A is an enlarged view of the lowerportion of the contour structure having a void 652 between the variousheat seals that form a vertex. In particular, FIG. 80A shows the void652 of an expanded standup bag that may result during the welding of theheat seals 642, 646, 646′. FIG. 80B is a enlarged side view of the void652 of a collapsed standup bag. When a bag is filled with fluid, the bagmay leaks may develop at the intersection of the longitudinal heat seal642 the lower heat seals 646, 646′ if the void is not properly sealed.Traditionally, conventional bags provide comparatively thick innermaterial layer to facilitate the flow of material into the void.Typically, the void is sealed when the inner material layers are heated.Once heated, the abundance of inner material becomes viscous and thematerial flows into the cavity thereby closing the void. However, usinga thick inner layer adds to the cost of manufacturing the bags since athicker gauge material needs to be used.

[0175] In contrast, the present invention may seal the void by providinga strip or a patch along the edge of the material that will form thelongitudinal seal. The patch and/or strip provides additional materialthat may flow into the cavity and seal the void. Using a strip or apatch at the point of intersection between the longitudinal heat sealand the lower heat seals reduces manufacturing costs for at least thefollowing reasons. First, thinner gauge material is more cost effectiveas compared to traditional thicker gauge material. Second, a thinnergauge material is easier to manipulate during the manufacturing process.

[0176]FIG. 81A illustrates another embodiment of a web 246′ of materialthat will form the standup bags. In particular, FIG. 81A schematicallyshows the process of (1) inserting 248′ a strip 247′ of material to sealthe voids 652 that occur at the points of intersection between thelongitudinal heat seal 276′ and oblique heat seals 280′, 282′; (2)welding 249′ the strip 247′ to the web 246′; (3) trimming 250′ theexcess strip material and bag material; and (4) perforating 251′ theheat seal. The strip material 247′ is placed over the area of the web246′ that corresponds to the intersection of the longitudinal heat seal276′ with the upper 280′ and lower 282′ oblique heat seals that form thefirst and second V-shaped seals. FIG. 81A also illustrates that thestrips 247′ may be trimmed to the size of the bag as the web 246′ isadvanced. The strip may be made from a plurality of polymer materialssuch as, but not limited to, polypropylene and polyethylene.Additionally, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the strips247′ may have different gauge thickness based upon the intended use ofthe standup bag. Furthermore, the gauge of the strips 247′ may also bebased upon the gap that needs to be filled and gauge of the materialthat forms the walls of the standup bag.

[0177]FIG. 81B illustrates a standup bag 270′ in a collapsedconfiguration where reinforcement patches 284′ are provided at all fourpoints of intersection between the oblique heat seals 280′, 282′ and thelongitudinal heat seals 276′. The standup bag comprises a top wall 274′,a front wall 278′, back and bottom walls (not shown), and side walls.The standup bag includes a fitment 272′ that is provided on the topwall. The standup bag also includes folds 286′, 288′ that are locatednear the top and the bottom of the bag. FIG. 81C is an enlarged sideview of the intersection point of between the longitudinal heat seal276′ and the oblique heat seals 282′ that form one of the vertices ofthe V-shaped seal with the reinforcing patch 284′ sealing the void.

[0178]FIGS. 82A and 82B illustrate another embodiment of the web 900 ofstandup bags. FIG. 82A shows two adjacent bags 902, 904 that have beenformed form a continuous sheet of material. The two adjacent bags 902,904 are connected together by a central web 906. The central web may beperforated 910 as shown in FIG. 82A. The perforation facilitates theseparation of the web of bags into individual bags. However, it iscontemplated that the central web may not be perforated for certain webconfigurations. In those applications where a perforation is notprovided, the central web is cut prior to or after filling the bag witha flowable substance.

[0179] Furthermore, FIGS. 82A and 82B show at least one stay member 908disposed between the two adjacent bags 902, 904. The stay member 908 maybe the same width as the weld 901 as shown in FIG. 82A or the staymember 908 may be wider than the weld 901 as shown in FIG. 82B. Thewidth of the stay member may be varied by changing the size of thecut-out portion 912. Moreover, the width of the stay member may bevaried depending on the size of the bag or material strength. Thecentral web and stay members are cut prior to or after the introductionof flowable substances into the individual bags.

[0180]FIGS. 28A and 28B illustrate a fully formed web 246 with thestandup bags 120 in a collapsed state. The web 246 may be stored in abox 248 as shown in FIG. 29 for transport to the filling station (notshown). The standup bag 120 may be filled in accordance with at leastone the following two procedures. The web 246 may be fed into a highspeed filling station wherein the closure 140 is automatically removedfrom the spout body 134. The enclosed region is automatically filledthrough the opening in the spout body 134 with the flowable substance,thereby causing the standup bag 120 to expand. The closure 140 is thenautomatically reattached to the spout body 134, and the filled standupbag 120 is detached from the web 246 by a cutter. The detached standupbag 120 may be placed in a box and transported to the market where itcan be placed on shelves and displayed as a self standing product.Alternatively, the web may be fed into a high speed filling stationwherein the individual bags are separated from the web. The closure isautomatically removed from the spout and the individual bags are filled.The closure 140 is then automatically reattached to the spout body 134,and the filled standup bag 120 may be placed in a box and transported tothe market where it can be placed on shelves and displayed as aself-standing product.

[0181] The customer may access the fitment 133, remove the closure 140,and dispense the flowable substance. If the entire contents of thestandup bag 120 is not completely dispensed, the closure 140 bereattached to the spout body 134 and the remaining flowable substancecan be dispensed at a later date, wherein the standup bag 120 is capableof self standing even when partially filled. In one application, anuse-demand valve, often referred to as a dispensing valve or tap, may beattached to the spout body to control the flow rate of the substance. Itis noted that some applications may not require a valve member and aclosure such as, but not limited to, a cap or plug may be reattached tothe spout body after the enclosure is filled with the flowablesubstance.

[0182] In an alternate applications requiring larger standup bags(larger than several gallons), the customer may access the fitment,remove the cap, and attach a suction hose (not shown) to the fitment.The suction hose may be operatively connected to a pump (also not shown)and the flowable substance is withdrawn through the fitment or spout asdesired by the customer. The valve member may be a check valve to allowthe flowable substance to be sucked out of the bag while preventing airfrom entering the bag.

[0183] Referring to FIG. 30 another embodiment of standup bag 250 isshown for applications requiring relatively large enclosed regions.The-standup bag 250 is placed within a bin 256 having a plurality ofwalls. The bin may be placed on a pallet 260 and provided with a lid258. The flexible bag 250 may be configured and formed in accordancewith the previous embodiment shown in FIG. 3; however, the bag may havea volume ranging from about ten gallons to about five hundred gallons.The standup bag 250 may be used as a liner for bulk containers such as,but not limited to, bins, boxes, crates, or drums. The walls of the bin,box, crate, or drum may be rigid or flexible, but the walls serve toprovide additional support the walls of the standup bag 250.

[0184] To facilitate filling and dispensing of the flowable substance, aplurality of fitments 252, 252′, 252′ may be positioned in a pluralityof locations. The fitments 252, 252′ may be used to fill the standupbag, and the fitment 252″ may be used dispense the contents of thestandup bag. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that fitment 252″may also be used to fill the standup bag. Accordingly, in this instance,the fitments 252, 252′ located on the front wall 254 are not needed.

[0185] The standup bag 250 offers several advantages over bags such aspillow style bags. For example, flex cracking of the sheet material isreduced when the standup bag 250 is placed in a bin, box, crate, or drumbecause the corners and walls of the standup bag 250 conform morereadily with the walls of the container as shown in FIG. 30. Therigidity of the bag 250 is particularly important to avoid flex crackingat the corners during transport. Furthermore, because the standup bag250 conforms more readily to the space within the bin, box, crate, ordrum, the standup bag is more space efficient and is capable of carryinga greater volume of flowable substance for a given space as compared tothe pillow style bag.

[0186] Referring to FIGS. 31-37, another embodiment of a standup bag 300is shown which is formed from a single sheet of material. The standupbag 300 is similar to the standup bag 120 shown in FIG. 3 with theexception that one of the seals is replaced with a fold. For example, afold along an edge of a bottom wall may replace a seal, or a fold alongan edge of a top wall may replace a seal. The standup bag 300 has afront wall 302, a rear wall 304, a first side wall 306, a second sidewall 308, a top wall 310, and a bottom wall 312 to define therebetweenan enclosed brick-shaped region for containing the flowable substance.The walls are formed from flexible sheets.

[0187] The top wall 310 has a through-hole, and a fitment 314 having aspout body 316 and a cap 320. The first side wall 306 includes upperheat seals 322 which extend from upper corners of the first side wall306 and join to form a V-shaped seal when viewed from the side as shownin FIG. 35. The first side wall 306 further includes lower heat seals324 which extend from lower corners of the first side wall 306 and jointo form an inverted V-shaped seal. The V-shaped seals are joinedtogether by a longitudinal heat seal 326 to form a contour structure.Similarly, the second side wall 308 includes upper heat seals 328 andlower heat seals 330 which form V-shaped seals as shown in FIG. 34, andeach of the V-shaped seals are joined together by a longitudinal heatseal 332. Referring back to FIGS. 31 and 32, a heat seal 334 extendslong the bottom edge of the front wall 302 from one of the lower heatseals 324 of the first side wall 306 to one of the lower heat seals 330of the second side wall 308. Instead of a heat seal, a fold 336 extendsalong the top edge of the rear wall 304 from one of the upper heat seals322 of the first side wall 306 to one of the upper heat seals 328 of thesecond side wall 308 as shown in FIGS. 31 and 33.

[0188] An alternate embodiment of the standup bag may be formed fromtwelve sheets of material. The sheets of material correspond to thefront wall, rear wall, top wall, bottom wall, a first side wall, and asecond side wall. The first and second side walls are made up of fourcomponents: a first triangular profile, a first side wall panel, asecond side wall panel, and a second triangular profile. The side wallsare formed by heat sealing the first and second side wall panels to thefirst triangular profile. On the opposite end, the second triangularprofile is heat sealed to the first and second side wall panels. Alongitudinal heat seal is also made to attach the first and second sidewall panels together. The side walls are then heat sealed to the top,bottom, front, and back walls to form the standup bag. That is, theedges of the top, bottom, front, back, and side walls are heat sealedtogether to form a standup bag. Those skilled in the art will appreciatethat fewer sheets of material may be used to form the standup bag bysubstituting folds in the material for heat seals. That is, instead of aheat seal between the front wall and the bottom wall, a single sheet ofmaterial may be folded to form the front and bottom wall. As thoseskilled in the art will appreciate, a through hole and spout may beprovided on any sheet of material.

[0189] Referring to FIGS. 38-48, the standup bag 300 can be formed byproviding a rectangular sheet 338 having a single layer, two layers,three layers, four layers, or more layers of material. A hole 340 ispunched in the rectangular sheet 338 to define the through-hole as shownin FIG. 38. Referring to FIG. 39, the spout body 316 is fitted upthrough the through-hole, the lower flange is sealed to the rectangularsheet 338 to form the seal ring, and a first fold 342 is formed.Referring to FIG. 40, the rectangular sheet 338 is folded along thefirst fold 342 to form a first sheet 344 and a second sheet 346.Referring to FIG. 41, the two sheets 344, 346 are secured together at abottom portion by forming a first U-shaped seal 348 extending from oneside of the sheets 344, 346 to an opposite side of the sheets 344, 346and are further secured together at a top portion by forming end seals350.

[0190] Referring to FIG. 42, four corner portions of the sheets areremoved by trimming the sheets along end segments of the first U-shapedseal 348 and the end seals 350. A second fold 352 is formed near thebottom portion of the first sheet 344. The second fold 352 extends fromone side of the first sheet 344 to the opposite side of the first sheet344 and abuts end segments 354 of the first U-shaped seal 348. A thirdfold 356 is formed near the top portion of the first sheet 344 andextends from one side of the first sheet 344 to the opposite side of thefirst sheet 344. Referring to FIG. 43, a fourth fold 358 is formed nearthe bottom portion of the second sheet 346 and extends from one side ofthe second sheet 346 to the opposite side of the second sheet 346. Afifth fold 360 is formed near the top portion of the second sheet 346and extends from one side of the second sheet 346 to the opposite sideof the second sheet 346 and abuts the ends of the end seals 350.

[0191] Referring to FIG. 44, the sheets 344, 346 are folded along thesecond 352, third 356, fourth 358, and fifth fold 360 approximatelyninety degrees such that mid-portions of the first 344 and second sheet346 are separated from each other by a distance A. As illustrated inFIG. 45, the sheets 344, 346 are further folded at the second 352, third356, fourth 358, and fifth fold 360 to approximately one hundred eightydegrees to form a rectangularly shaped assembly, wherein the mid-portionof the first sheet 344 and the bottom portion of the second sheet 346are illustrated.

[0192] Referring to FIG. 46, the sides of the sheets 344, 346 aresecured together by a second U-shaped seal 362 and a third U-shaped seal364. As shown in FIG. 47, four corner portions of the rectangularlyshaped assembly are removed by trimming along end segments of the second362 and third U-shaped seal 364. The standup bag 300 is now fully formedan may be shipped in the collapsed state to a filling station as shownin FIG. 48.

[0193] Referring to FIGS. 49-55, another embodiment of a standup bag 400is shown. The standup bag 400 is intended primarily to containrelatively small enclosures ranging from a few pints to a few gallons.The standup bag 400 has a front wall 402, a rear wall 404, a firstconcave shaped side wall 406, a second concave shaped side wall 408, atop wall 410, and a bottom wall 412 to define therebetween an enclosedregion for containing flowable substances. The walls 402, 404, 406, 408,410, 412 are formed from flexible sheets.

[0194] The top wall 410 has a through-hole, and a fitment 414 having aspout body 416 and a cap 420. The front wall 402, portions of the sidewalls 406, 408, and the top wall 410 are formed from a first sheet (notshown), while the rear wall 404, portions of the concave shaped sidewalls 406, 408, and the bottom wall 412 are formed from a second sheet(not shown). In particular, the first side wall 406 includes upper heatseals 426 which extend from upper corners of the first side wall andjoin to form a V-shaped seal when viewed from the side as shown in FIG.53. The first side wall 406 further includes lower heat seals 428 whichextend from lower corners of the first side wall 406 and join to form aninverted V-shaped seal. The V-shaped seals are joined together by aconcave shaped heat seal 430 to form a contour structure. Similarly, thesecond side wall 408 includes upper heat seals 432 and lower heat seals434 which form V-shaped seals as shown in FIG. 52, and each of theV-shaped seals are joined by a concave shaped heat seal 436. Referringto FIGS. 49 and 50, a heat seal 438 extends along the bottom edge of thefront wall 402 from one of the lower heat seals 428 of the first sidewall 406 to one of the lower heat seals 434 of the second side wall 408.In a similar fashion, a heat seal 440 extends along the top edge of therear wall 404 from one of the upper heat seals 426 of the first sidewall 406 to one of the upper heat seals 432 of the second side wall 408as shown in FIGS. 49 and 51.

[0195] With such a configuration, the flexible sheets are rigidified bythe flowable substance exerting pressure against the walls 402, 404,406, 408, 410, 412. The rigidity of the bottom corners of the standupbag 400 is further enhanced by providing concave shaped side walls 406,408 such that the standup bag 400 remains rigid and well defined as aresult of the flowable substance exerting pressure against the cornerregion. The pressure exerted against the walls 402, 404, 406, 408, 410,412 creates a flat and stable base at the bottom to allow the bag 400 tostand solid and stable on a level surface, even when partially filled.As a result, relatively thin and flexible sheet material may be used.Furthermore, the concave side walls 406, 408 allow a user to more easilygrasp the standup bag 400, and the concave side walls 406, 408 aredistinctly shaped for marketing purposes.

[0196] Referring to FIGS. 56-66, the standup bag 400 can be formed byproviding a first rectangular sheet 440 and a second rectangular sheet442. Each of the sheets 440, 442 can be single layer, two layers, threelayer or more layers of material. A hole 444 is punched in the firstrectangular sheet 440 to define the through-hole (see FIG. 56), and thespout body 416 is fitted up through the through-hole (see FIG. 57),wherein the lower flange is sealed to the first rectangular sheet 440 toform the seal ring. Referring to FIG. 58, the first sheet 440 ispositioned above the second sheet 442. Referring to FIG. 59, the sheets440, 442 are secured together at the bottom portion by forming a firstU-shaped seal 446 extending from one side of the sheets 440, 442 to anopposite side of the sheets 440, 442 and are further secured together ata top portion by forming a second U-shaped seal 448 extending from oneside of the sheets 440, 442 to the opposite side of the sheets 440, 442.

[0197] Referring to FIG. 60, four corner portions of the sheets 440, 442are removed by trimming along end segments of the first 446 and secondU-shaped seal 448. A first fold 450 is formed near the bottom portion ofthe first sheet 440 and extends from one side of the first sheet 440 tothe opposite side of the first sheet 440. The first fold 450 abuts endsegments 452 of the first U-shaped seal 446. A second fold 454 is formednear the top portion of the first sheet 440 and extends from one side ofthe first sheet 440 to the opposite side of the first sheet 440.Referring to FIG. 61, a third fold 456 is formed near the bottom portionof the second sheet 442. The third fold 456 extends from one side of thesecond sheet 442 to the opposite side of the second sheet 442. A fourthfold 458 is formed near the top portion of the second sheet 442 andextends from one side of the second sheet 442 to the opposite side ofthe second sheet 442, wherein the fourth fold 458 abuts end segments 460of the second U-shaped seal 448.

[0198] Referring to FIG. 62, the sheets 440, 442 are foldedapproximately ninety degrees at the first 450, second 454, third 456,and fourth fold 458 such that mid-portions of the first 440 and secondsheet 442 are separated from each other by a distance A. Referring toFIG. 63, the sheets 440, 442 are further folded at the first 450, second454, third 456, and fourth fold 458 from approximately ninety degrees toone hundred eight degrees to form a rectangularly shaped assembly.

[0199] Referring to FIG. 64, the sides of the sheets 440, 442 aresecured together by a first curved seal 464 having end segments 466 anda second curved seal 468 having end segments 470. As shown in FIG. 65,four corner portions of the rectangularly shaped assembly are removed bytrimming along the end segments 466, 470 of the first 464 and secondcurved seal 468, and mid portions of the rectangularly shaped assemblyare removed by trimming along the mid portions of the first 464 andsecond curved seal 468. The standup bag 400 is now fully formed and maybe shipped to a filling station in the collapsed state as shown in FIG.66. After the bag 400 is filled with the flowable substance, dispensingmay be accomplished in one of four basic ways: uncapping and dischargingcontents; attaching one or more standup bags 400 to a pumping system;activating a small volume, use-demand closure often referred to as adispensing valve; or slashing at least one wall and dispensing thecontents.

[0200] Referring to FIGS. 72-76, the standup bags of the presentinvention may include at least one integrated handle 700 that are usefulfor transporting and/or dispensing from the standup bags. It iscontemplated that a one handle or a two handle configuration may beprovided with the standup bag. The handles may be integral with thematerial of the standup bag. In an alternate embodiment, at least onehandle may be attached to the completed bag by heat sealing, impulsedsealing, ultrasonic sealing, RF sealing, or by other techniques known tothose skilled in the art. In another embodiment, at least one handle maybe attached to the completed bag by adhesives such as, but not limitedto, hot melt adhesives.

[0201] Referring to FIGS. 72 and 74, two embodiments of the one handleconfiguration is shown. In FIG. 72, the integrated handle is anextension of the heat seal that extends across the edge of the top wall.The additional material of the heat seal is folded over upon itself andwelded to form a recess 702 or pocket that facilitates an individual'sability to lift, carry, or transport the standup bag. Another handleembodiment is shown in FIGS. 74 and 74A. The handle 704 is flush withthe walls of the bag rather than a member that extends away from thebody of the bag. A recess 706 or pocket is formed between the handlematerial and a wall of the bag. The additional material is folded andthe handle is welded to the bag at the same welds that comprise one sideof the V-shaped seal as shown in FIGS. 74 and 74A. Those skilled in theart will appreciate that the standup bags may also include twointegrated handles as shown in FIGS. 73, 75, and 76.

[0202]FIG. 78 is a standup bag template for making a standup bag from atleast one sheet of material. For example, one sheet of material can becut to a similar shape of the template. The front, back, top and bottomwalls correspond to sections F, H, E, G. A side wall is formed bycombining sections A, B, C, and D together as shown in FIG. 78A. Thetemplate as shown in FIG. 78 includes two handles 704 that areintegrated members of the standup bag. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the same template may be used to form a standup baghaving one handle by simply removing one handle from the template.

[0203] Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 72-76, the integrated handles orgrasping members are on the same side of the standup bag as the fitment.It is also contemplated that the grasping members 704 may be provided onthe a side opposite the fitment 725 as shown in FIG. 77.

[0204]FIGS. 76 and 76A illustrates another two handle configurationwhere the two handles 720 are adjacent to the bag fitment 724. Thehandles extend from the welds 750 and further include at least threefinger holes 722. When the double handles are pulled together, bagrigidity is increased which facilitates the emptying of the bag. Thisfeature is important when emptying a collapsing container.

[0205] FIGS. 87-88B illustrate other embodiments of a standup bag withat least one planar handle. The standup bag comprises a front wall 1054,a back wall (not shown), side walls 1056, a top wall 1052, and a bottomwall (not shown). The standup bag also includes a fitment 1060 that maybe located on any walled surface or placed along any heat seal. As shownin FIGS. 87-88B, the fitment 1060 is located on the top wall 1052.Referring back to FIG. 87, a planar handle 1058 is provided on thestandup bag. The planar handle may be integral with the bag or thehandle may be attached after the bag is formed. Referring to FIG. 88Aand 88B, the standup bag includes two handles 1058, 1068. The two handleconfiguration allows an individual to grasp the standup bag and emptythe contents more easily as shown in FIG. 88B.

[0206] Additionally, the planar handle 670 of the standup bag may bereinforced as shown in FIG. 77A. The standup bag includes handle 670 hasan opening 682 which is adapted to allow the handle to be fully grasped.The reinforced handles also includes a reinforcement member 684 thatstrengthens the handle and allows for greater user comfort when carryingthe standup bag. The reinforcement member 684 may be attached to thedistal portion 686 of the handle opening. The reinforcement member 684may be attached to the handle after the handle has been formed or may beintegral with the handle. In the integral confirmation, the handle iscut to form a flap. The flap of material is then manipulated and rolledas shown in FIG. 77B to form the reinforcement member 684. By eithermethod of forming this reinforced handle, the reinforcement member maybe then attached to the handle by heat sealing, impulsed sealing,ultrasonic sealing, RF sealing, or other sealing methods known in theart.

[0207] Referring to FIGS. 79A and 79D, other handle embodiments areillustrated. The handle are integral or attached to the standup bag. Thestandup comprises a front wall 770, a top wall 772, bottom wall (notshown), and side walls 767. The side walls include upper heat seals 762and lower heat seals 768 connected by a longitudinal heat seal 764. Thehandles 766, 774 are extensions of the longitudinal heat seals 764. Thehandles may be planar 766 as shown in FIG. 79A or in a loopedconfiguration 774 as shown in FIG. 79D. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that a plurality of these handles may be provided on thestandup bags of the present invention. That is, at least one heat sealmay have a handle 766, 774 extending therefrom.

[0208] FIGS. 85A-F illustrates another embodiment of the standup bag1000 where at least one panel 1002 is disposed upon at least one surfaceof the bag. The panel 1002 may be made of a plurality of materials suchas, but not limited to, heavy stock paper, cardboard, or corrugatedcardboard. The panel 1002 may be bonded or otherwise affixed to thesurface of the bag as shown in FIGS. 85C-F. The panel 1002 may also bewrapped around the bag and affixed to itself as shown in FIGS. 85A-B.Furthermore, the panel 1002 may be attached to the bag by both bondingthe panel surfaces to the bag in combination with bonding the panels toitself. Referring back to FIG. 85A, the panel is wrapped around fourcontiguous sides of the standup bag. That is, one continuous panel 1002covers the top, back, bottom, and front walls. In another embodiment,the panel may cover any four contiguous sides of the standup bag such asthe top, bottom, and both side walls. In yet another embodiment, thefront, back, and both side walls may be covered by the panel.

[0209] Referring back to FIG. 85A, the panel 1002 may include graspingmembers 1004. The grasping members 1004 may be integral with the panelas shown in FIGS. 85A, 85E, and 85F. However, the grasping members maybe attached to the panels after the panel has been affixed to the bag.Moreover, the panels may not include the grasping members as shown inFIGS. 85B, 85C, and 85D. Referring back to FIG. 85A, the panel 1002includes a through-hole that accommodates the fitment 1006. Furthermore,FIG. 85A shows an overlapping portion 1008 of the panel that allows thepanel 1002 to affixed to itself. The combination of the bonded panel andthe fitment fitted through the through-hole affixes the panel to thestandup bag. However, it is contemplated that the panel may be bonded tothe bag by adhesives commonly used in the art.

[0210] FIGS. 85C-F are alternate embodiments where at least one panel1002 is attached to two surfaces of the standup bag. The panels may bebonded to the surface by adhesives or other means known by those skilledin the art. FIG. 85C shows two panels 1010, 1012 that have been bondedto a side wall and the bottom wall of the standup bag. FIG. 85D showsanother embodiment where the top wall and a side wall have a panel 1014coupled thereto. The panel 1014 includes a through-hole adapted toreceive the fitment 1006. The standup bag of FIG. 85E includes a panel1002 that covers the top wall and one side wall. The panel 1002 alsoincludes at least one grasping member 1004 integral or affixed to thepanel. FIG. 85F is an alternate embodiment of the standup bag where thepanel 1002 covers the bottom wall and one side wall.

[0211] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one to six panelsmay be coupled to the various surfaces of the standup bag of the presentinvention. The panels may be fashioned in such a combination to cover atleast one surface of the standup bag. The panels that have been coupledto the standup bags are useful for forming continuous graphics orlabels. Additionally, the panels may provide additional rigidity to thestandup bag when filled with a flowable substance. Moreover, the panelsmay be useful for grasping or holding a standup bag.

[0212]FIG. 86 illustrates yet another embodiment of the presentinvention. The bag 1020 as shown in FIG. 86, only has one weld 1021located on the outer surface of the bag. The oblique welds 1024 and thelongitudinal welds 1026 are on the inner surface of the bag. The bag asshown in FIG. 86 is formed according to the methods of the presentinvention, and the bag 1020 is turned inside-out prior to making thefinal weld.

[0213] In another embodiment of the standup bag, a plurality of wallsmay have different wall thickness. For example, one side wall may bemade from a sheet material having a thicker gauge as compared to theother walls of the standup bag. The thicker wall material would increasethe rigidity of the bag and therefore improve the handling stability ofthe bag. Thus, depending on the bag volume, intended use, or otherphysical or functional parameter, a plurality of walls may be made froma thicker gauge material.

[0214]FIG. 90 illustrates another embodiment of the fitment 1150 thatmay be included with the standup bag of the present invention. Thefitment 1150 is an internal fitment where the main body of the fitmentlocated within the bag rather than on the surface of the bag. Thefitment 1150 is a cylindrical structure having a flange 1162 extendingfrom the periphery of the cylinder. The flange is adapted to allow forthe attachment of the fitment 1150 to the bag material 1158. On theinner surface of the fitment, an annular recess 1160 is provided toengage a flange 1164 disposed on the plug 1154. The plug also contains arecess 1163 and flange 1165. The flange 1165 is adapted to allow fillerequipment to remove and insert the plug 1154 from the fitment. Thefitment 1150 also includes a carrier 1152 that extends away from themain body of the fitment.

[0215] The carrier 1152 facilitates the moving and filling of thestandup bag of the present invention. The carrier 1152 includes anundercut 1156 around the perimeter of the fitment body. The carrier 1152may be broken off the fitment 1150 at the undercut 1156. The carrier1152 may be broken off the fitment 1150 during the process ofre-inserting the plug 1154. Additionally, it is contemplated that thecarrier may be broken off any time after the standup bag has beenfilled.

[0216] Another embodiment of an internal fitment is illustrated in FIGS.91-92. The fitment 1166 comprises a spout body 1180, spout flange 1172,and a carrier 1168. The spout body is a cylindrical structure where thebody 1180 is located within the standup bag. Referring back to FIG. 91,at one end of the spout body 1180, a flange 1172 is provided which isadapted to attach to the standup bag material. The flange may beattached to the bag material by various welding methods such as heatsealing, impulsed sealing, ultrasonic sealing, RF sealing, or othertechniques that would be apparent to those skilled in the art. At theopposite end of the spout body, a ridge 1174 protrudes into the lumen1182 of the spout. The ridge is adapted to stop the plug 1170 from beingpushed through the spout body into the standup bag. The plug 1170 is acylindrical disk capable of sealing the lumen 1182 of the spout. Theplug 1170 includes a recess 1183 and a ridge 1185 that are adapted toreceive filling fixtures (not shown) so that the plug 1170 may beremoved or inserted into the spout body 1180.

[0217] Referring now to FIG. 92, an enlarged side view of the internalfitment of FIG. 91 is illustrated. In particular, the junction betweenthe carrier 1168 and the spout body 1180 is shown. The spout body 1180includes an annular groove 1176 which is adapted to receive bulbous end1178 of the carrier 1168. The carrier 1168 also includes a plurality offlanges 1184 that circumferentially extend away from the carrier. Theflanges are adapted to be grasped by fixtures and other componentsassociated with bag filling devices. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that the number, size, and location of the flanges may beadjusted or modified to suit the needs of the filling device (notshown).

[0218] The carrier 1168 may be removed from the fitment when the standupbag is recapped. That is, when the plug is pushed into the spout bodyand contacts the spout ridge 1174, the carrier 1168 may be separatedfrom the spout body. Referring back to FIG. 92, the plug 1170 is in aposition that prevents the carrier 1168 from being removed. Inparticular, the plug is positioned so that the carrier 1168 cannot becompressed to a smaller diameter. Accordingly, there is insufficientclearance to allow the carrier to be removed from the annular groove1176. However, once the plug 1170 clears the carrier 1168, the carrier1168 may be compressed and detached from the fitment 1166. Once removed,the carrier 1168 may also be recycled or reused in the filling process.

[0219]FIG. 93 illustrates yet another embodiment of an internal fitmentthat may be integrated with the standup bag of the present invention.The fitment 1186 comprises a spout body 1187, a sleeve member 1194, anda plug 1200. The spout body 1187 is a cylindrical body having a lumen.The spout body 1187 also includes a flange 1188 that is adapted toattach to the standup bag material. The flange 1188 may be attached tothe bag material by various welding methods such as, but not limited to,heat sealing, impulsed sealing, ultrasonic sealing, RF sealing, or othertechniques that would be apparent to those skilled in the art. The spoutbody 1187 also includes an annular recess 1192 that is adapted toreceive the sleeve flange 1198.

[0220] In FIG. 93, the sleeve 1194 is slidably engaged with the fitment1186. The fitment 1186 includes a plurality of flanges 1190, 1196, atleast one recess 1191, and an annular ledge 1198. The flanges 1190, 1196radiate from the exterior surface of the sleeve 1194. The lower flange1190 is adapted to prevent the sleeve 1194 from being pulled out thespout body 1187. Additionally, a plurality of recesses 1191 may beprovided on the exterior surface of the sleeve 1194. As shown in FIG.93, the recess 1191 provides a point of engagement for the fillingfixtures (not shown). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that morethan one recess may be provided on the exterior surface of the sleeve.The annular ledge 1198 is disposed on the inner surface of the sleeve1194. The ledge 1198 is adapted to engage the flange 1202 of the plug1200. The plug 1200 is a disk-shaped member that is adapted to seal thelumen of the spout. The plug 1200 includes an annular flange 1206 and arecess 1208 that are adapted to receive a filling fixture (not shown).

[0221] As shown in FIG. 93, the sleeve 1194 is in a first position wherethe sleeve 1194 protrudes from the spout body 1186 away from the surface1204 of the standup bag. In this position, the flange 1196 and recess1191 are exposed such that they may be engaged by the filling fixture.After the bag has been filled, the bag is recapped by inserting the plug1200 into the lumen of the sleeve 1194. A first axial force is appliedto the plug 1200 until the plug flange 1202 engages the annular ledge1194 of the sleeve. A second axial force is then applied the plug 1200which causes both the sleeve 1194 and plug 1200 to be inserted into thebag until the flange 1196 engages the annular groove 1192 of the spoutbody 1186 as shown in FIG. 94. In particular, FIG. 94 illustrates thesecond position where the flange 1196 engages the annular groove 1192 ofthe spout body 1186. In the second position, the sleeve 1194 is flushwith the spout body 1186 and bag surface 1204.

[0222] Referring to FIG. 95, another embodiment of a fitment 1209comprising a spout body 1210 and a spout sleeve 1211. The spout body1210 is a cylindrical structure having a lumen 1226 and at least oneflange 1212 that radiates away from the exterior surface of the body1210. As shown in FIG. 95, the spout body 1210 includes one flange 1212.The flange 1212 is adapted to attach the spout body 1210 to the standupbag material. The flange 1212 may be attached to the bag material byvarious welding methods such as, but not limited to, heat sealing,impulsed sealing, ultrasonic sealing, RF sealing, or other techniquesknown by those skilled in the art. Additionally, the spout body 1210includes an annular groove 1216 that is adapted to receive an annularridge 1232.

[0223] The fitment 1209 also includes a sleeve member 1211 that slidablyengages the spout body 1210. The sleeve member 1211 is a cylindricalstructure that is open at one end and is closed at a second end by abottom surface 1228. The bottom surface may be made from a foil,plastic, or other like material. At least one port 1224 is disposedabout the circumference of the sleeve above the bottom surface 1228 ofthe sleeve. Below the bottom surface 1228, a locking member 1230 havingan annular ridge attached to the sleeve 1211. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the locking member 1230 and the sleeve member 1211may be integral with the sleeve or the locking member 1230 be attachedto the sleeve. At the open end of the sleeve, at least one annularflange 1218 radiates away from the exterior surface of the sleeve 1211.As shown in FIGS. 95-96, the sleeve has two flanges 1218, 1220. Theflanges 1218, 1220 are adapted to facilitate the manipulation andmovement of the standup bag during the filling process.

[0224] As shown in FIG. 95, the sleeve is in a first position. In thefirst position, the sleeve protrudes into the standup bag. In thisposition, the ports 1224 are in communication with the interior of thestandup bag. Thus, in the first position, a flowable substance may beintroduced or removed from the standup bag. FIG. 96 shows the sleeve ina second position where the interior of the bag is sealed. In thissecond position, the locking member 1230 and the annular ridge 1232 aremutually engaged with the spout body 1210 and the annular groove 1216.As a result, the sleeve 1211 extends outwardly from surface 1214 of thestandup bag. In the second position, the sleeve 1211 may be separatedfrom the locking member 1230 at the undercut 1229 thereby forming afitment substantially flush with the bag surface.

[0225]FIG. 97 illustrates yet another embodiment of a fitment of thepresent invention. The fitment 1250 comprises at least one flange 1252extending from the perimeter of the fitment and a retaining member 1254.The flange 1252 may extend obliquely away from the perimeter of thefitment as shown in FIG. 97A. However, those skilled in the art willappreciate that the retaining member may extend perpendicularly from theperimeter of the fitment.

[0226] In FIGS. 97-97B, the fitment has a square shape, but it iscontemplated that the fitment may be any shape including, but notlimited to, a circle, rectangle, triangle, pentagon, or the like. At oneend of the fitment, the flange 1252 is adapted to be grasped by thefilling fixture (not shown). Additionally, the opening of the fitment isadapted to be enclosed by a foil 1258 or a cap. The cap may be made frommaterial such as, but not limited to, polycarbonate, polyethylene, ABS,or the like.

[0227] Referring back to FIG. 97, at the end of the fitment opposite theflange 1252, a retaining member 1254 extends from the perimeter of thefitment. The retaining member 1254 is adapted to provide a surface thatpermits the bag material 1256 to be attached to the fitment 1250. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the fitment may be attached tothe bag material by various methods known in the art such as, but notlimited to, heat sealing, impulsed sealing, ultrasonic sealing, RFsealing, or other techniques known by those skilled in the art.

[0228]FIG. 98 illustrates another embodiment of the retaining member1254′ where the retaining member is not a continuous structure about theperimeter of the fitment. As compared to FIGS. 97-98, the retainingmember is a continuous structure. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 97A, theretaining member extends obliquely from the perimeter of the fitment.However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the retainingmember may extend perpendicularly from the perimeter of the fitment.Furthermore, as those skilled in the art will appreciate, the fitmentsof the present invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 90-98, may be adaptedso that the fitments attached to a completed bag by a fin seal.

[0229] The present invention also discloses a method of making standupbags having various shapes. According to this method, the standup bagsmay have differing shapes and sizes, but the bags still may be folded ina substantially flat configuration and are still self-standing whenfilled with a flowable substance. FIG. 101 illustrates an example of astandup bag designed by the method of the present invention. While thebag illustrated in FIG. 101 may have an unconventional shape, the bagincludes: a front wall, a back wall, a top wall, a bottom wall, and atleast one contour structure.

[0230] In order to make a flexible bag that may be substantially flatwhen empty and self-standing when filled with a flowable substance, theangles C, D, G that comprise a corner of the front, bottom, and sidewalls, respectively, are selected. These angles C, D, G collectivelyform a corner of the bag as shown in FIG. 89A. The remaining angles thatcomprise the a comer of the standup bag are calculated by the followingformulas:

J=G+D−C  (I)

E=G+C−D  (II)

H=(J/2)+(C−D)  (III)

F=(E/2)+(D−C)  (IV).

[0231] Formulas (III) and (IV) may be simplified as follows:

H=((G+C−D)/2)  (III)

F=((G+D−C)/2)  (IV).

[0232] An algorithm that comprises formulas (I)-(IV) is then applied toeach corner of the standup bag to design the overall shape of the bag.The size of the bag is determined by choosing the width (L1), height(L2), and depth (L3) of the bag as shown in FIG. 89A. Once the angles ofthe each corner are determined, the shape of the contour structure maybe determined. That is, for instance, once angles F, H are determined,the position of one of heat seals that comprise the V-shaped heat sealmay also be determined. Likewise, the corresponding angles thatcomprises the opposite corner of the dictate the position of the otherheat seal that comprises the V-shaped heat seal. This process is thenrepeated to determine the upper V-shaped seal. The longitudinal heatseal is the line that connects the vertices of the V-shaped profiles.

[0233] In closing, it is to be understood that the embodiments of theinvention disclosed herein are illustrative of the principles of thepresent invention. Other modifications that may be employed are withinthe scope of the invention; thus, by way of example, but not oflimitation, alternative configurations of the flexible bag may beutilized. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to thatprecisely as shown and described in the present invention.

We claim:
 1. A standup bag, comprising: an enclosure made from at leastone sheet of material, the enclosure being defined by at least one wall,the walls being substantially rigid when the enclosure is filled with aflowable substance; and at least one contour structure, wherein thecontour structure defines a geometric shape of the enclosure.
 2. Thestandup bag of claim 1, further comprising: wherein the walls include afront wall, a rear wall, a first side wall, a second side wall, a topwall, and a bottom wall; wherein the contour structure includes: a firstupper seal extending from a first upper corner of the first side wall, asecond upper seal extending from a second upper corner of the first sidewall, the first upper seal and the second upper seal joining to form afirst V-shaped seal, a first lower seal extending from a first lowercomer of the first side wall, a second lower seal extending from asecond lower corner of the first side wall, the first lower seal and thesecond lower seal joining to form a second V-shaped seal, a longitudinalseal joining the first V-shaped seal to the second V-shaped seal; and atleast one fitment attached to at least one sheet and out through whichthe flowable substance may enter or be withdrawn from the enclosure. 3.The standup bag of claim 2, further comprising: a second contourstructure, wherein the contour structure includes: a first upper sealextending from a first upper corner of the second side wall; a secondupper seal extending from a second upper corner of the second side wall,the first upper seal and the second upper seal joining to form a firstV-shaped seal; first lower seal extending from a first lower corner ofthe second side wall; second lower seal extending from a second lowercorner of the second side wall, the first lower seal and the secondlower seal joining to form a second V-shaped seal; and a longitudinalseal joining the first V-shaped seal of the second side wall to thesecond V-shaped seal of the second side wall.
 4. The standup bag ofclaim 1, wherein the wall is substantially flat to form a stable base toallow the rigid bag to stand stable on a level surface, and wherein thewall directly contacts the level surface when standing on the levelsurface.
 5. The standup bag of claim 1, wherein at least one wall has apolygonal shape, wherein the polygonal shape is selected from the groupconsisting of a square, a rectangle, a parallelogram, and a trapezoid.6. The standup bag of claim 5, wherein at least two opposing walls havethe same polygonal shape.
 7. The standup bag of claim 6, wherein atleast four opposing walls have the same polygonal shape.
 8. The standupbag of claim 1, further comprising at least one handle.
 9. The standupbag of claim 8, wherein the standup bag includes two handles.
 10. Thestandup bag of claim 8 wherein the handle is attached to a seal.
 11. Thestandup bag of claim 8 wherein the handle is reinforced.
 12. The standupbag of claim 8 wherein the handle is a loop.
 13. The standup bag ofclaim 8 wherein the handle is planar.
 14. The standup bag of claim 13wherein the handle includes a recess.
 15. The standup bag of claim 13wherein the handle includes at least one opening.
 16. The standup bag ofclaim 1 further including at least one panel attached to the outersurface of the at least one wall.
 17. The standup bag of claim 16wherein the panel includes at least one grasping member.
 18. The standupbag of claim 3 further including at least one reinforcing memberdisposed at the junctions of the first and second upper seals and thelongitudinal seal of the first side wall, the first and second lowerseals and the longitudinal seal of the first side wall, the first andsecond upper seals and the longitudinal seal of the second side wall,the first and second lower seals and the longitudinal seal of the secondside wall.
 19. The standup bag of claim 1 further including at least oneply of material.
 20. The standup bag of claim 1 wherein the sheet ofmaterial comprises at a plurality of layers laminated together.
 21. Thestandup bag of claim 1 wherein the sheet of material comprises aplurality of layers joined together along the perimeter of the layers.22. A standup bag comprising: at least one wall made from a flexiblematerial, a bottom member, and a top member, wherein the at least onewall is disposed between the bottom member and the top member to definean enclosure; at least one contour structure included on the walls; atleast one fitment in communication with the enclosure; and the bag beingself-standing when filled with a flowable substance.
 23. The standup bagof claim 22 wherein the enclosure is substantially brick-shaped.
 24. Thestandup bag of claim 22 wherein the walls have shapes selected from thegroup consisting of a square, a rectangle, a triangle, and a trapezoid.25. The standup bag of claim 24, wherein at least two walls have thesame shape.
 26. The standup bag of claim 24, wherein four walls have thesame shape.
 27. The standup bag of claim 24, wherein all walls have thesame shape.
 28. The standup bag of claim 22, further comprising at leastone grasping member.
 29. The standup bag of claim 22 wherein the standupbag includes at least one ply of material.
 30. The standup bag of claim22 wherein the sheet of material comprises at a plurality of layerslaminated together.
 31. The standup bag of claim 22 wherein the sheet ofmaterial comprises a plurality of layers joined together along theperimeter of the layers.
 32. The standup bag of claim 22 furtherincluding at least one panel attached to the outer surface of the atleast one wall.
 33. The standup bag of claim 32 wherein the panelincludes at least one grasping member.
 34. The standup bag of claim 22further including at least one reinforcing member disposed at thejunctions of the first and second upper seals and the longitudinal sealof the first side wall, the first and second lower seals and thelongitudinal seal of the first side wail, the first and second upperseals and the longitudinal seal of the second side wall, the first andsecond lower seals and the longitudinal seal of the second side wall.35. The standup bag of claim 22 wherein the enclosure is formed from atleast one layer of material.
 36. The standup bag of claim 22 wherein theat least one fitment is located on the walls of the enclosure.
 37. Thestandup bag of claim 22 wherein the at least one fitment is located on aseal.
 38. The standup bag of claim 22 further comprising at least onehandle attached to the enclosure.
 39. The standup bag of claim 38wherein the handle is attached to a seal.
 40. The standup bag of claim38 wherein the handle is reinforced.
 41. The standup bag of claim 38wherein the handle is a loop.
 42. The standup bag of claim 38 whereinthe handle is planar.
 43. The standup bag of claim 42 wherein the handleincludes a recess.
 44. The standup bag of claim 42 wherein the handleincludes at least one opening.
 45. The standup bag of claim 22 furthercomprising at least one panel attached to the outer surface of the flatwalls.
 46. The standup of bag of claim 45 wherein the at least one panelincludes at least one grasping member.
 47. A web of stand up bags, theweb comprising: at least two standup bags, wherein the standup bagsinclude at least one substantially flat wall and a plurality of wallsdefining an enclosure; at least one contour structure provided on thewalls of the enclosure, wherein the standup bags are joined by thecontour structures.
 48. The web of claim 47, wherein the web furtherincludes at least one stay member joining the at least two standup bags.49. The web of claim 47 wherein perforations are disposed between theadjacent contour structures.
 50. A web of standup bags, the webcomprising: a plurality of standup bags, wherein the standup bagsincludes a substantially flat bottom wall, a plurality of walls definingan enclosure; at least one contour structure provided on the walls ofthe enclosure; and at least one stay member, wherein the plurality ofstandup bags are joined by the contour structures and the stay members.51. The web of claim 50 wherein perforations are disposed betweenadjacent contour structures.
 52. A web of standup bags, the webcomprising: a plurality of standup bags, wherein the standup bagscomprises a plurality of walls and the walls include at least onesubstantially flat wall being free of seams, and at least one contourstructure; and adjacent standup bags are joined together by a heat seal.53. The web of claim 52, wherein the heat seal is a longitudinal heatseal.
 54. The web of claim 52, wherein the heat seal is a head heatseal.
 55. The web of claim 52, wherein the heat seal is a contourstructure.
 56. A method of storing flowable substance, comprising:providing an enclosure having a first configuration and a secondconfiguration, wherein the enclosure in the first configuration issubstantially flat and the enclosure in the second configuration isself-standing; and introducing a flowable substance through a fitmentinto the enclosure having the first configuration, wherein the flowablesubstance causes the enclosure to achieve the second configuration. 57.A method of making a standup bag comprising: providing a sheet ofmaterial having at least four edges; securing the first edge of thematerial to the second edge of the material to form a first seal;creating a first fold substantially parallel to the first edge, whereina distance between the first fold and the first edge defines a firstsurface of the bag; creating a second fold substantially parallel to thefirst fold, wherein the second fold is at the opposite end of the firstfold; forming a second seal extending from the first fold to the secondfold; and forming a third seal extending from the first fold to thesecond fold, wherein the third seal is opposite the second seal.
 58. Themethod of claim 57 wherein the first seal, second seal, and third sealare substantially U-shaped seals.
 59. The method of claim 57 furthercomprising attaching at least one fitment to the sheet of material priorsecuring the first edge to the second edge.
 60. The method of claim 57further comprising positioning at least one fitment between the edges ofthe first seal, the second seal, or the third seal.
 61. The method ofclaim 57 further comprising forming at least one integrated handle onthe standup bag.
 62. The method of claim 57, further comprisingattaching at least one handle to the standup bag.
 63. The method ofclaim 57 further comprising inserting reinforcing members along theedges between the first fold and the second fold prior to forming thesecond and third seals.
 64. A method of making a standup bag comprising:positioning a first sheet of material on a second sheet of material;securing the first sheet to the second sheet by forming a first seat anda second seal, wherein the second seal is opposite the first seal;creating a first fold substantially parallel to the first edge, whereina distance between the first fold and the first edge defines a firstsurface of the bag; creating a second fold substantially parallel to thesecond edge, wherein a distance between the second fold and the secondedge defines a second surface of the bag; forming a second sealextending from the first fold to the second fold; forming a third sealextending from the first fold to the second fold, wherein the secondseal is opposite the third seal.
 65. The method of claim 64 wherein thefirst seal, second seal, and third seal are substantially U-shapedseals.
 66. The method of claim 64 further comprising attaching a fitmentto the sheet of material prior securing the first edge to the secondedge.
 67. The method of claim 64 further comprising insertingreinforcing members along the edges between the first fold and thesecond fold prior to forming the second and third seals.
 68. The methodof claim 64 further comprising placing a fitment between the edges ofthe first seal, the second seal, or the third seal.
 69. The method ofclaim 64 further comprising forming at least one integrated handle onthe standup bag.
 70. The method of claim 64, further comprisingattaching at least one handle to the standup bag.
 71. A method ofdesigning a standup bag, the method comprising: (a) determining ageometry of the standup bag, wherein the standup bag comprises at leastfour walls, a top wall, and a bottom wall, wherein the at least fourwalls are disposed between the top wall and the bottom wall to define anenclosure, and the enclosure includes at least one contour structure;(b) selecting an angle (C), wherein the angle (C) comprises a firstcorner of a first wall; (c) selecting an angle (D), wherein the angle(D) comprises a second corner of a second wall; (d) selecting an angle(G), wherein the angle (G) comprises a third comer of a third wall; (e)calculating a third angle (F), wherein F=((G+D−C)/2); (f) calculating aforth angle (H), wherein H=((G+C−D)/2); wherein the third and forthangles comprise a third corner of a third wall, and the first, second,and third corners form a first corner of the standup bag; and (g)applying steps (a)−(f) to the remaining corners of the standup bag. 72.The method of claim 71 wherein the first wall is a front wall or a backwall of the standup bag.
 73. The method of claim 72 wherein the secondwall is a top wall or a bottom wall.
 74. A method of designing a standupbag, the method comprising: (a) determining a geometry of the standupbag having at least one contour structure, wherein the standup bagcomprises a top wall, a bottom wall, a front wall, a bottom wall, afirst side wall, and a second side wall; (b) selecting an angle (C),wherein the angle (C) comprises a first corner of a front wall; (c)selecting an angle (D), wherein the angle (D) comprises a first cornerof a bottom wall; (d) selecting an angle (G), wherein the angle (G)comprises a first corner of a first side wall; (e) calculating a thirdangle (F), wherein F=((G+D−C)/2); (f) calculating a forth angle (H),wherein H=((G+C−D)/2); wherein the third and forth angles comprise thefirst corner of the first side wall, and the first corner of the frontwall, the first corner of the bottom wall, and the first corner of thefirst side wall form a first corner of the standup bag; and (g) applyingsteps (a)-(f) to the remaining corners of the standup bag.
 75. A methodof forming a standup bag, the method comprising: providing at least onesheet of material; defining a geometry of the standup bag, wherein thestandup bag includes at least one substantially flat surface and atleast one contour structure; and determining the shape of the contourmember by predetermined algorithm.
 76. A method of making a web ofstandup bags, the method comprising: providing a first roll and a secondroll of material; unwinding a portion of the first roll; punching a holein the unwound portion of the first roll; fitting a fitment through thehole; unwinding and placing a portion of the second roll atop theunwound portion of the first roll; removing material from the corners ofthe first unwound portion and the second unwound portion; sealing thefirst unwound portion and the second unwound portion by a firsthorizontal seal and a second horizontal seal; folding the first andsecond unwound portions to form substantially flat surfaces; and sealingthe longitudinal surfaces of first and second unwound portions with atleast two substantially U-shaped seals to form the web of standup bags.77. The method of claim 76 further comprising: folding the first andsecond unwound portions to form a substantially flat surface prior tosealing the first and second unwound portions with the at least twosubstantially U-shape seals.
 78. The method of claim 77 furthercomprising: inserting reinforcing members along the longitudinalsurfaces prior to sealing the first and second unwound portions with theat least two U-shaped seals.
 79. The method of claim 76 furthercomprising: perforating the substantially U-shaped seal disposed betweenadjacent standup bags.
 80. A fitment attached to a flexible bag, thefitment comprising: a cylindrical body having a lumen, a first end, anda second end; a cylindrical carrier attached to the first end of thecylindrical body, wherein the cylindrical carrier is detachable from thecylindrical body; and a closure capable of sealing the lumen of thecylindrical body.
 81. The fitment of claim 80 further comprising: astopping member disposed within the lumen of the cylindrical body. 82.The fitment of claim 80 further including an annular groove disposedbetween the first end of the cylindrical body and the cylindricalcarrier, wherein the carrier is detachable from the cylindrical body atthe annular groove.
 83. The fitment of claim 80 further comprising: anannular recess disposed about the first end of the cylindrical body; anda bulbous end disposed on the second end of the cylindrical carrier,wherein the bulbous end is adapted to engage and disengage the annularrecess.
 84. The fitment of claim 83 further comprising: a stoppingmember disposed within the lumen of the cylindrical body.
 85. A fitmentattached to a flexible bag, the fitment comprising: a cylindrical bodyhaving a lumen, a first end, and a second end; a cylindrical carrierattached to the first end of the cylindrical body; an annular groovedisposed between the first end of the cylindrical body and thecylindrical carrier, wherein the carrier is detachable from thecylindrical body at the annular groove; and a closure capable of sealingthe lumen of the cylindrical body.
 86. The fitment of claim 85 furthercomprising: a stopping member located within the lumen of thecylindrical body.
 87. A fitment attached to a flexible bag, the fitmentcomprising: a cylindrical body having a lumen, a first end, a secondend, and an annular recess disposed about the first end of thecylindrical body; a cylindrical carrier having a first end and a secondend, wherein the second end of the cylindrical carrier is adapted toengage and disengage the annular recess; and a closure capable ofsealing the lumen of the cylindrical body.
 88. The fitment of claim 87further comprising: a stopping member located within the lumen of thecylindrical body.
 89. A fitment attached to a flexible bag, the fitmentcomprising: a cylindrical housing having a first end, a second end, anda lumen therebetween; a cylindrical sleeve having a lumen, the sleeveslidably engaging the cylindrical body, the cylindrical sleeve having afirst position and a second position wherein in the first position thesleeve protrudes from the first end of the cylindrical body, and in thesecond position the sleeve engages the first end of the cylindricalbody; and a closure slidably engaging or disengaging the lumen of thesleeve.
 90. A fitment attached to a flexible bag, the fitmentcomprising: a cylindrical ring having a lumen disposed between a firstend and a second end, and at least one annular groove disposed on aninner surface of the lumen; a cylindrical sleeve, wherein thecylindrical sleeve is slidably engages the lumen of the cylindricalring, the cylindrical sleeve comprising: a lumen disposed between afirst end and a second end; at least one port arranged about thecircumference of the cylindrical sleeve; a base member positioned withinthe lumen below the port; and at least one annular ridge positioned onan outer surface of the sleeve, wherein the annular ridge is adapted toengage the annular groove of the cylindrical ring; and the cylindricalsleeve having a first position and a second position, in the firstposition, an interior of the bag is sealed when the annular ridgeengages the annular groove, and in the second position, the flange ofthe sleeve engages the first end of the cylindrical ring and the atleast one port is in communication with an interior of the standup bag.91. A fitment attached to a flexible bag, the fitment comprising: acylindrical ring having a lumen disposed between a first end and asecond end, and at least one sleeve cooperating means disposed on aninner surface of the lumen; a cylindrical sleeve, wherein thecylindrical sleeve is slidably disposed in the lumen of the cylindricalring, the cylindrical sleeve comprising: a lumen disposed between afirst end and a second end; at least one port disposed arranged aboutthe circumference of the cylindrical sleeve; a base member positionedwithin the lumen below the at least one port; and at least one ringcooperating means positioned on an outer surface of the sleeve, whereinthe ring cooperating means is adapted to engage the sleeve cooperatingmeans of the cylindrical ring; and the cylindrical sleeve having a firstposition and a second position, wherein in the first position, aninterior of the bag is sealed when the ring cooperating means engagesthe sleeve cooperating means, and in the second position, the ringcooperating means is disengaged from the sleeve cooperating means andthe at least one port is in communication with the interior of thestandup bag.
 92. A standup bag formed from a flexible material, thestandup bag comprising: an enclosure, wherein the enclosure includes aplurality of substantially flat walls; at least one fitment attached tothe enclosure, wherein a flowable substance may enter or be withdrawnfrom the enclosure; a contour structure provided on at least two wallsof the enclosure, wherein the contour structure defines the shape of theenclosure when the enclosure is filled with the flowable substance; atleast one of the plurality of flat walls being free of seams, whereinthe flat wall forms a stable base to allow the enclosure filled with theflowable substance to stand; and at least one grasping member attachedto the standup bag, wherein the grasping member extends away from thewalls of the standup bag.
 93. The standup bag of claim 92 wherein thegrasping member is substantially planar and is attached to a seal. 94.The standup bag of claim 92 wherein the grasping member includes anopening, wherein a portion of the opening is reinforced.
 95. The standupbag of claim 92 wherein the grasping member is substantially planar andis attached to a seal, and the grasping member includes a partial cutoutportion, wherein the cutout portion is folded to form a reinforcementmember on the grasping member.
 96. The standup bag of claim 92 whereinthe grasping member is a looped member extending from at least one seal.97. The standup bag of claim 93 wherein the grasping member includes atleast one opening adapted to be grasped.
 98. The standup bag of claim 92wherein the grasping member is substantially planar and is attached to aseal, and the grasping member includes a recess.
 99. A standup bagformed from a flexible material, the standup bag comprising: anenclosure, wherein the enclosure includes a plurality of substantiallyflat walls; a contour structure provided on at least two walls of theenclosure, wherein the contour structure defines the geometric shape ofthe enclosure when the enclosure is filled with the flowable substance;at least one of the plurality of substantially flat walls being free ofseams, wherein the substantially flat wall forms a stable base to allowthe enclosure filled with the flowable substance to be self-standing;and at least one grasping member attached to the standup bag, whereinthe grasping member extends away from the substantially flat walls. 100.The standup bag of claim 99 further comprising: at least one fitmentattached to the enclosure, wherein a flowable substance may enter or bewithdrawn from the enclosure through the fitment.
 101. A handle for astandup bag formed from a flexible material, the handle comprising: asubstantially planar member having a generally rectangular shape, afirst edge and a second edge, wherein the first edge is attached to thestandup bag.
 102. The handle of claim 101 wherein the second edge isattached to the stand up bag to form a loop.
 103. The handle of claim101 wherein the substantially planar member includes a pocket having anopening at one end, wherein the pocket is defined by a fold locatedbetween the first edge and the second edge and two seals substantiallyperpendicular to the edges.
 104. The handle of claim 101 wherein theplanar member includes a third and forth edge, and the third and forthedge are attached to the standup bag, wherein a pocket is defined by theplanar member and at least one wall of the standup bag.
 105. A standupbag formed from a flexible material, the standup bag comprising: anenclosure, wherein the enclosure includes a plurality of substantiallyflat walls; at least one fitment attached to the enclosure, wherein aflowable substance may enter or be withdrawn from the enclosure; acontour structure provided on at least two walls of the enclosure,wherein the contour structure defines the shape of the enclosure whenthe enclosure is filled with the flowable substance; at least one of theplurality of flat walls being free of seams, wherein the substantiallyflat wall forms a stable base to allow the enclosure filled with theflowable substance to be self-standing; and at least one grasping memberintegral with the enclosure, the at least one grasping member includes afirst edge and a second edge, wherein the first edge and the second edgeare attached to the contour structures.
 106. A method of designing astandup bag having a first and second configuration wherein the standupbag in the first configuration is substantially flat and the standup bagis self-standing when filled with a flowable substance in the secondconfiguration, the method comprising: selecting a width, a height, and adepth of the standup bag; and determining a geometry of the standup bagby a predetermined algorithm.
 107. The method of claim 106 wherein thepredetermined algorithm comprises: (a) selecting an angle (C), whereinthe angle (C) comprises a first corner of a first wall of the standupbag; (b) selecting an angle (D), wherein the angle (D) comprises asecond corner of a second wall of the standup bag; (c) selecting anangle (G), wherein the angle (G) comprises a third corner of a thirdwall of the standup bag; (d) calculating a third angle (F), whereinF=((G+D−C)/2); (e) calculating a forth angle (H), wherein H=((G+C=D)/2);wherein the third and forth angles comprise a third corner of a thirdwall, and the first, second, and third corners form a first corner ofthe standup bag; and (f) applying steps (a)−(e) to the remaining cornersof the standup bag.